Winner
Dustin Chase
This story takes place in Kingsville, Texas—South of San Antonio, East of Corpus Christi. Relatable is the theme director Susanna Fogel and writer Kerry Howley maintain with a story about the young woman who leaked information about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. “Winner” focuses on this young misfit, played by Emilia Jones (CODA), throughout her life and leading up to her receiving the longest prison sentence in history for leaking classified information. This isn’t a military story like “Megan Leavey,” nothing similar to the Snowden film, and certainly not “G.I. Jane.” This film maintains a coming-of-age feel, folksy yet relatable to those who also might feel like outsiders.
Reality (Jones) followed her father’s twisted ideology on things growing up. He tells his daughter that whichever puppy they don’t choose at the store, the rest will be slaughtered. “Your father exaggerates,” her mother (Connie Britton) says. So, Reality, a nine-year-old, thinks it best to free all the puppies and let them out of their cage. Father proud, mother mortified. Out of high school, Reality is recruited by the Air Force due to her foreign language skills. Unlike her sister Brittany (Kathryn Newton), Reality wasn’t interested in friends, boys, or anything resembling a typical teenager. The Air Force led her to the NSA, and that’s where she got in trouble. Her complicated relationship with her father (Zach Galifianakis), addiction to pain pills, and the pursuit of her goals isolate her in a world that isn’t always forgiving, even when you do the wrong thing for the right reasons.
"As the audience, we want [Winner] to be happy and find stability."
Instead of giving us a procedural on Reality Winters’s early years leading up to the prison sentence, Fogel humanizes a blurb news story that made headlines due to her unusual name. “That’s your real name?” we hear various characters ask throughout the film. The one who doesn’t ask is Andre, played by Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick). At this point in the story, we already know it takes a special person to deal with Reality’s eccentricities, but Ramirez energizes the film when it starts to lull. The chemistry between Jones and Ramirez is palatable and engaging. As the audience, we want her to be happy and find stability.
Recent true stories are more complex than those which have marinated over time and run their full course. While many viewers might not know exactly how things turned out for Reality, we do know that she ends up in handcuffs, thanks to the film’s opening sequence. Again, the director and screenwriter focus on the relatable elements in the story to make it more personal: the pivotal role Reality’s social working mother, played by Connie Britton, takes when her daughter is in prison. The juxtaposition between the two parents, their style, and the way they care for their children should be more front and center for a bigger payoff at the end.
Final Thought
Surprisingly cute and genuine for a film about espionage.