JOSH Singer’s screenplay draws heavily from accounts by Daniel Domschitt-Berg (Daniel Bruhl), David Leigh and Luke Harding about the founding of WikiLeaks and the roles that Julian Assange and Daniel played in its begetting, gestation, parturition and growth.

Director Bill Condon examines those complex, challenging and polarising events in a political-message film canvassing the duopoly embedded in the morality of WikiLeaks. Has the public the right to know everything, whether good, bad or ugly, done by political, diplomatic and military agencies pursuing their assigned roles? Or do revelations from the material delivered by Bradley Manning threaten harm to brave people whose covert and dangerous job is to seek out and report impending dangers from enemies?

The film throws up subtle tensions, demanding that filmgoers ponder not only what’s on the screen but also its downstream implications. Demonstrations of seminal waypoints in the story combine archival footage with staged inventions based on media reports. Following how it all happened is not hard, but there’s no free ride through events not covered in the source material.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Assange, fervour bordering on brilliance, compelling praise for a bravura performance of substantial intellectual capacity flawed in the manner of its application. The supporting cast is no less admirable.

At Palace Electric and Capitol 6