Podcast | ‘The Report’ Episode Recap

The Imbibe Cinema hosts — Jonathan C. Legat, Tricia Legat, and Michael Noens —sit down to discuss Scott Burns' The Report, available to stream on Prime Video, while imbibing The Senator cocktail. The conversation explores the film's tense plot, exceptional cast, and heavy themes, ultimately finding it to be a compelling, albeit dark, watch.

The film is based on actual events and stars Adam Driver as Daniel Jones, the lead investigator tasked with examining the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" program following 9/11. The movie successfully builds suspense, even though the historical results are known.

The central narrative tracks the CIA's reaction to the 9/11 attacks, which was driven by anger, helplessness, and the fear of being blamed if another attack occurred. To prevent future incidents, the agency goes too far.

Key plot points discussed include:

• The Cover-Up: The CIA went to great lengths to play up the idea that the program was working, even though the intelligence being gathered was not "actionable," and they knew they were breaking Geneva conventions.
• Lack of Oversight: Key figures in the government, including Bush and Colin Powell, were not fully informed about the program for a long time. Decisions made never went up the proper chain of command.
• The Report's Discovery: The main conflict arises when Daniel Jones gets his hands on the CIA’s internal report, which was either sent by a whistleblower or accidentally dumped in the pile. He is subsequently blamed for hacking the CIA to obtain the information.
• A Focus on the Work: The film maintains intense focus on the report itself, covering six years of investigation, and intentionally leaves out Jones’s personal life to keep the focus strictly on the material.
• Lack of Accountability: The hosts noted the horrific realization at the end of the film that after the report’s release, no one in the CIA was fired or reprimanded, and some people were even promoted.

The cast was widely praised by the hosts, including Adam Driver, whose intense performance makes the audience buy in the entire time — regardless of his specific look due to his role as Kylo Ren in Star Wars. John Hamm's performance as Dennis McDonough (Obama's future Chief of Staff) was also highlighted, akin to his Mad Men character.

The true villains of the film, however, were the two psychologists — T. Ryder Smith and Douglas Hodge (playfully nicknamed "D-bag #1 and D-bag #2" by Jonathan) — who designed the program. They were paid $80 million to destroy people using techniques they claimed were based on science. The director, Scott Z. Burns, was drawn to the project after being horrified by the idea of professionals trained to help people using their expertise to weaponize it instead.

The film’s production was lauded for its gritty and intense cinematography (by Eigil Bryld, the cinematographer for In Bruges), which helped maintain the suspense.

The hosts repeatedly drew comparisons between The Report and classic investigative films like All the President's Men and Spotlight.

The most powerful moment for the hosts was a scene toward the end of the film when the film stops to honor Senator John McCain, a man who was a POW and had been tortured himself. The hosts agreed that the real footage of McCain’s speech served as a beautiful, pivotal point in the story that stepped back from the drama to let reality soak in.

Overall, the Imbibe Cinema crew appreciated the film's strong cast and its powerful portrayal of another horrific moment in American history, recommending it highly for fans of political thrillers.

Episode Beverage Pairing

Ingredients

• ½ ounce chartreuse
• ½ ounce brandy
• ½ ounce benedictine
• ½ ounce curacao
• ½ ounce maraschino
• ½ ounce creme de roses
• 2 ounces clear run
• 6 ounces pineapple juice