Cumberbatch had not seen the film when he walked the red carpet ahead of director Bill Condon, but he defended Assange and said he is a man of conviction. Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal is incredibly convincing; he captures the obsessive conviction of a man who has done the unthinkable, exposed state secrets to the world that were never meant to see the light of day. On the Red Carpet at Tiff, Cumberbatch candidly said that he sees Julian Assange as a hero and there are many who agree with him. Assange learned early in life what persecution is, how authorities entrusted with safeguarding and protecting people can abuse or ignore that power and responsibility. He has experienced the terrible consequences and seen the human cost. This story is well documented in Underground and well referenced in The Fifth Estate. One riveting sequence in The Fifth Estate reveals a video of American troops in Afghanastan who brutally gun down a Rueter’s journalist who has stopped to assist an innocent civilian hit by gunfire. The man was unarmed and simply picking up his children from school. The soundtrack carries the voices of the American soldiers as they joke about what they are doing. They laugh about the men being unarmed. The sheer force of their bullets shot from a military helicopter rock the man’s car in a circle. Two of his children are inside. There are countless other acts of brutality documented in the Wikileaks material that make damning statements about abuse of US military power.

Underground, a thriller from award-winning Australian director Robert Connolly was based on true events surrounding Julian Assange’s early years. Connolly wrote and directed the movie that follows a group of schoolboys in the 1980’s who used Commodore 64 Computers in Melbourne, Australia to hack into high-level company and government websites. ‘Underground’ sets the stage for understanding who Julian Assange is and what motivates him. Fast forward twelve months to a sold out theatre, a Red Carpet crammed with world press and internationally acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch, accomplished director Bill Condon and Disney on the team. The movie The Fifth Estate brings to light many of the life changing events that have spurred the Wikileaks phenomenon and begins to uncover the genius and courage of its founder Julian Assange.

There is only one actor who could possibly portray Julian Assange and Benedict Cumberbatch provides an Oscar worthy performance. Other outstanding performances in The Fifth Estate come from the women in the story. Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones – Melessandra, Black Book, Valkyrie) portrays Birgitta Jónsdóttir and Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair, Anna Karenina) is Daniel’s love interest. Both provide excellent performances considering that the focus is on the Wikileaks men.

Moira Romano

Shown at this year’s TIFF13 : Toronto International Film Festival. Julian Assange was invited to participate as a juror for the Raindance Film Festival in London, England this September.