Oliver Stone Channels ‘House Of Cards’ In The First ‘Snowden’ Trailer
Nicolas Cage is in this thing too, for some reason?
Oliver Stone’s upcoming biopic of NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden just got its first trailer, and while there aren’t any shots of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the main character, its gives you a pretty good idea that this thing isn’t going to be the jolliest caper there ever was:
The whole turn-the-flag-upside-down thing has a stack of historical significance; traditionally the US flag is never flown upside-down except to convey mortal danger, and is used to that end as a distress signal. Doing it here is a pretty symbolism-laden moment, which House of Cards tapped into with its logo too:
Besides that, this thing raises at least two questions. Firstly, is that a gloomy cover of This Little Light of Mine, the cheeriest damn song there ever was? It’s not as hit-you-over-the-head-with-meaning as a haunting rendition of The Star Spangled Banner would’ve been, so maybe that’s for the best.
Secondly: who’s THIS delightful creature showing up in the credits?
HELLO.
If Nicolas Cage isn’t sporting some ridiculous hair on his head and face, and saying achingly silly lines with po-faced seriousness, why would you even cast him. Maybe this Joseph Gordon-Levitt stuff is a red herring, and we’re going to get two glorious hours of Nicolas Cage staring intently at computer screens and savouring the feel of freedom from state oppression in his long, flowing hair.
–
Snowden comes out December 25.