The Fifth Estate (2013) on Netflix
R20132h 8mBiographyCrimeDramaThriller
In 2007 Berlin, journalist Daniel Domscheit-Berg meets Julian Assange, and together they build WikiLeaks, where whistle-blowers leak documents anonymously. Their first target is a Swiss bank.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.2/1044,302 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes35%
Trailer
Plot summary
At Berlin's Chaos Communication Congress in 2007, Daniel Domscheit-Berg meets the Australian journalist Julian Assange, with whom he has exchanged emails. Daniel's interest in online activism draws him into Assange's project, WikiLeaks, a site built to release information that is withheld from the public while its sources stay anonymous. Their first major target is a Swiss private bank, Julius Baer, which has been running illegal dealings through its Cayman Islands branch. The bank sues and obtains an injunction, which is dissolved in court, and the pair reclaim the domain name. Over the next three years the two publish more documents, among them material on Scientology, Sarah Palin's email account and the British National Party's member list.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Fifth Estate (2013)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Assange contacted Cumberbatch by email during filming to ask him to withdraw from the film.
- In October 2013 WikiLeaks published a personal letter Assange had written to Cumberbatch that January, commending the actor's talent and good intentions but asking him to reconsider a project Assange called one that vilifies and marginalises a living political refugee to the benefit of an entrenched, corrupt and dangerous state.
- On 21 September 2013 WikiLeaks released a version of the script, said to be the film's screenplay, along with commentary labeling the film fiction masquerading as fact.
- In July 2012 Jeremy Renner was reported to be in talks to play Julian Assange, with Bill Condon negotiating to direct and Josh Singer writing. Later that year Deadline Hollywood broke the news that Renner was out and the studio was seeking Benedict Cumberbatch instead.
- During filming Cumberbatch had to wear three different wigs, false teeth and blue contact lenses in order to reflect Julian Assange's physical characteristics.
