Laura Poitras’ acclaimed documentary
Citizenfour, which is comprised of a series of interviews with highly
paranoid Edward Snowden in his Hong Kong hotel room shortly after his
dissemination of classified NSA material in 2013, is really just a
structureless exercise that doesn’t really tell you anything you didn’t know
already about the subject with the ‘you are there’ effect quickly wearing away.
Matters are made worse by the director
opting to tell the story in first person and attempting to elevate herself to
hero status by constantly reminding the viewer of her involvement of the subject
matter since its inception and referencing her other noble factuals.
** 1/2 out of ****