The Report

I enjoy historical stories that seek to show the inherently messy nature of democracy, and that the messiness is a feature, not a bug.

This movie does a good job with that. It shows how the investigation into the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation techniques needed to be made public despite the dangers and protestations, because transparency is a hallmark of a strong democracy.

But the movie also shows the arguments from the other side. In those fraught years, people were scared and worried all the time. The prospect of another attack dangled above everyone’s heads.

There was no ironclad answer. It was all grey area.