Sydney Sweeney's Thrilling HBO Movie Is A Stress-Inducing Nightmare You Have To Watch

From the very first scene of Tina Satter's 2023 docu-drama "Reality," there's a palpable frustration that takes hold of the viewer. If, like me, you go in watching it knowing as little as possible about what's in store, you'll be desperate for explanations about what's happening on screen. But Satter knows better than to reveal anything too early. Her film's strength is to cultivate an ever-increasing anxiety in the viewer until it physically becomes too much to bear. This might sound pretty awful to people who mainly watch movies to relax and let some steam off, and not to add more unnecessary tension to their already stressful everyday lives.

If that's the reason you primarily watch films, chances are you'll loathe "Reality" with every fiber of your being. But if you enjoy movies that balance on the very edge of a nervous breakdown — something like Philip Barantini's "Boiling Point," which is essentially an audio-visual heart-attack — you're in for a treat with this Sydney Sweeney-led drama. And if you haven't heard of the real-life story of U.S. Air Force veteran and NSA translator Reality Winner yet (yup, that's a real name two people gave to a person), I encourage you to resist the urge to Google her and watch "Reality" first. However, if you need a little more information to be convinced, read on.

On June 3, 2017, Reality Winner (Sweeney) is welcomed by two antsy FBI agents on her front lawn as she returns home from grocery shopping. She's not nearly as surprised or shocked as any regular person would be. There's some tension in the air, but Reality keeps her composure to a degree that feels alarming. How can she be so calm and not even ask what the hell this is about? Agent Garrick (Josh Hamilton) and Agent Taylor (Marchant Davis) treat her pretty nicely, apart from the fact that they confiscate her phone and forbid her from going into her home. They even understand and appreciate her worry about her cat inside the building, but they do have a warrant to search the premises with a special team that hops out of a van before Reality can object to it. Not that she'd want to — in fact, she's as cooperative as any civilian could be. Seemingly, she's upfront and honest, willingly engaging in an awkward and excruciating small talk that feels more like a poorly-disguised interrogation. We kind of feel for her thanks to Sweeney's sensitive and vulnerable portrayal, because on the surface, she looks nothing more than a young and innocent girl "gently" bulldozed by an outside authority.

Still, it's impossible to ignore the off-putting lack of action on her part. As the minutes crawl forward during the house search, it becomes evident to us that Reality knows why the FBI is there. That simultaneously makes us suspect she's hiding something, broke the law in some way, and/or that she's guilty of something the film (tantalizingly) refuses to reveal just yet.

As much as I was screaming inside during the first 45 minutes (I actually blurted out "what the hell's going on?" midway through), I eventually understood that the movie's effectiveness lies in the not knowing. It's frustrating not getting the full picture early, but that deliberate lack of information is what provides the film's fertile soil where suspense can grow. It's a stupendously potent approach that was practically the entire focus of "Reality." Making things even more interesting is the fact that the screenplay, written by Satter and James Paul Dallas, is a verbatim recreation of the real interrogation transcript, documented by the FBI.

The only changes we see come in the forms of gestures, facial expressions, and timing, and never to the written word in the original "source material." Given how smooth and free-flowing the dialogue is, that's a remarkable (and frankly admirable) achievement in and of itself. It's also unsurprising that Reality's story was first adapted as a stage play that ran off-Broadway.

In a way, Satter's build-up to the inevitable reveal in the finale is such a suffocating and powerful one that the climax has a hard time living up to it. Don't get me wrong, when every piece of the puzzle falls into place, you'll feel an incredible relief and satisfaction, finally able to put together why every mysterious plot point unfolded the way it did. But at the same time, you can also see how all that smothering tension, anxiety, and stress dissipates at once when the truth quietly erupts like a muted scream.

Despite the ugly secret that Reality protects and harbors for so long, Sweeney is able to humanize her in mere looks and whispered half-sentences that make her a deeply sympathetic, if heartbreakingly tragic, protagonist. If there was any doubt about whether she's just eye-candy in Hollywood (see her Cassie in "Euphoria" and Bea in "Anyone But You") or a gifted, spellbinding, and dedicated actress through and through, this performance shatters it with unwavering confidence. In this role, she looks weary, defeated, and emotionally worn-out, leaning entirely on her innate energy and tremendous acting chops that deservedly made her a star.

While Satter's debut as writer-director is impressive, it's to Sweeney's credit that by the time the end credits roll, you'll feel both conflicted and empathetic about her character and whether what she did was morally right or wrong. Arguably, your mileage may vary about the story's conclusion and overall message, but "Reality" certainly comes across as an important film (especially to Americans) that both Sweeney and quality drama fans should see at least once.