Winner movie review
Winner movie review
Near the conclusion of Susanna Fogel’s snarky biopic Winner, a witty voiceover remarks that, although the information leak dramatically impacted the leaker’s life, the actual revelation of Russian interference in the 2016 election barely caused a stir. The report was released, a few commentators were self-satisfied, and then the world moved on. The film mirrors this sentiment with a clever visual gag—a scrolling feed that mixes serious news with fluffy lifestyle pieces, creating a blur of information—before resuming its story.
Yet—taking a cue from the film’s know-it-all tone—here’s the kicker: the rest of Winner spends its time championing the ideals of truth-telling, standing by your values, and trying to make a lasting change. If the realization that Reality Winner’s (Emilia Jones) actions ultimately amounted to little shattered the optimism that drove her to leak the document, the film doesn’t delve into that complexity. Instead, it’s more focused on crafting a feel-good #resistance message, bypassing the more nuanced aspects of Winner’s narrative.
This is the third cinematic portrayal of Winner, an Air Force vet and government contractor who, in 2017, printed a top-secret NSA document and mailed it to The Intercept, a website she casually read at work. She was arrested and later sentenced under the Espionage Act, receiving the harshest penalty ever given to a U.S. citizen for leaking classified information to the press.
Previous projects, including the 2021 documentary Reality Winner and 2022’s Reality, homed in on particular facets of her life and case. Winner, however, takes a broader view, spanning from 2001 to her release from prison in 2021. This approach aims to humanize a figure many only know by her unusual name. Reality Winner is a compelling, uniquely American character—a fiercely compassionate vegan with a passion for guns, CrossFit, and self-taught Pashto, who dedicated her life to helping strangers while keeping those closest to her at arm’s length.
The Reality Winner we encounter in this film is sharp, sarcastic, brutally candid, and wholly convinced of her moral high ground—a portrayal shaped by co-writer Kerry Howley’s interviews with Winner for both the film and the article it’s based on. Her personality aligns with Fogel’s irreverent directorial style, making the film sincere in the way an enthusiastic teenager is after discovering a new cause. Although it opens with a tired “You’re probably wondering how I ended up here” monologue, it remains earnest throughout.
Winner isn’t completely one-sided. There are moments where we see how Winner’s unyielding principles strain her relationships, particularly with her family and her kind, veterinary student boyfriend (Danny Ramirez). Still, Fogel’s admiration for her subject results in the film skimming over these tensions, as well as the complexities behind Winner’s choice to smuggle a highly sensitive document out of her NSA office. The film presents this act as straightforward heroism, and perhaps it was—but the psychology behind why Reality Winner was willing to take such a risk while others didn’t is far more intricate (and intriguing) than Winner is willing to investigate.
The film’s most insightful moments come from Winner’s interactions with her father Ronald (Zach Galifianakis), a disillusioned intellectual living in small-town Texas, who instilled in her a deep skepticism of authority and a commitment to her beliefs. Galifianakis delivers a standout performance, and his scenes with Jones give her character some emotional breathing room. (Throughout the film, Jones plays Winner with a rigid tension, reflective of her disciplined nature.)
Later, Winner’s mother Billie (Connie Britton) and sister Brittany (Kathryn Newton) step into the spotlight. But here, too, the film pushes deeper emotional complexity aside, favoring more surface-level, feel-good feminist messages. If supporting Winner through her ordeal took a toll on her family, that pain isn’t something Fogel wants the audience to dwell on by the time the credits roll and real-life photos appear. Instead, she wants viewers to feel satisfied—as though simply watching the film equates to standing for truth, just like Reality Winner did. Unfortunately, both the person and the reality are far more complicated than this simplified narrative suggests.
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