Sydney Sweeney is transfixing as Reality Leigh Winner in the new trailer for the upcoming drama, Reality, and her portrayal of the former Airman and NSA translator is as unsettling as it is raw and vulnerable.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the role Sweeney is portraying is that of a woman responsible for an unauthorized release of government information regarding Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election. “I don’t think you’re a big bad master spy,” Winner is told in the trailer, “I think you just…messed up.”
Many would say that Winner “messing up” is an understatement, but as Sweeney plays the role of someone blasé and unassuming, joking about the weight they put on the arrest warrant and saying she has no desire to be a whistleblower, you can see something bubbling under the surface. There’s an unraveling taking place, and Sweeney plays it effortlessly; it’s actually a bit spooky to watch.
While Winner’s story is complex, the film is set to follow the events of June 3, 2017 — the day of her interrogation. The leak took place on the website The Intercept. It wasn’t actually published until two days after her arrest, but before going into her home with the warrant, Justin C. Garrick and R. Wallace Taylor already knew everything they needed to know; they were simply waiting for Winner to tell the truth.
Speaking to CBS, Winner said that she felt an obligation to reveal the truth to the people, which is why she shared the information in the first place while knowing she shouldn’t.
“I knew it was secret. But I also knew that I had pledged service to the American people. And at that point in time, it felt like they were being led astray.”
Sweeney undeniably did her research before taking on the role of Reality Winner, and if you watch any footage of Winner in interviews since she was released from prison, you can see that she studied everything from her dialect to her body language, and it’s uncanny how well she plays the part. Reality is set to debut on HBO Max on May 29.
Published: May 11, 2023 06:30 pm