Snowden (2016)

Snowden is a 2016 American biographical thriller directed by Oliver Stone. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and NSA contractor who, in 2013, leaked classified documents revealing the vast scope of the U.S. government's global surveillance programs — including the NSA's collection of phone records, internet communications, and personal data from millions of citizens without warrants or meaningful oversight. The film traces Snowden's career from his discharge from Army Special Forces training through his CIA work in Geneva and his NSA assignments in Hawaii, where he became increasingly alarmed by the surveillance capabilities he was helping to build.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance was meticulously researched — he adopted Snowden's distinctive soft-spoken cadence and physical mannerisms with convincing precision. Oliver Stone's direction was surprisingly restrained for the famously provocative filmmaker, allowing the factual revelations to speak for themselves. Snowden earned $37 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.