The Report: Scott Z. Burns tells this complex true story in a very lucid manner; all the many levels of it come out being made sense of. However, any particular sense of the main character (beyond his obsession for the truth) ends up being lost, as this turns out to be a procedural. Nevertheless, it is a pretty strong condemnation of the Machiavellian state of mind so pervasive nowadays, of the idea that the ends justify the means, and that the Prince’s authority should go unchecked. The film clearly takes sides with the idea of moral absolutism in the debate. Adam Driver is very good as the protagonist, even if his character arch is not particularly rich; Annette Bening, however, is somewhat hammy; the rest of the large cast is filled with capable names doing good work. The aesthetics (notably Eigil Bryld’s cinematography, Greg O’Bryant’s editing) are uninventive but highly functional.