The Report | 2019 | R | – 5.5.5

Why is “The Report” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some scenes of inhumane treatment and torture, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes several scenes of fully nude male detainees being tortured and held in an inhumane manner, and a couple of cleavage revealing tops; several scenes of detainees being tortured, the death of one detainee and references to others having died, and many discussions of methods for gathering information from detainees and what methods are effective; and nearly 10 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Based on true events: US Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) appoints an idealistic staffer (Adam Driver) to lead the 5-year investigation into the CIA’s torture program, formally referred to as the “Detention and Interrogation Program” and undertaken after the 9/11 terrorist attacks using “enhanced” techniques to elicit information from detainees. Also with Corey Stoll, Evander Duck Jr., Jon Hamm and Linda Powell. Directed by Scott Z. Burns. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Arabic with translation or English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:59]

The Report SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A fully nude man is shown being tortured and we see his bare back, legs and buttocks (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details) in a few scenes. A photograph of a pile of nude detainees is shown (bare chests, abdomens, possible genitals, legs and buttocks are seen). A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage.

The Report VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A detainee is slammed against a wall several times, men kick him, pour a bucket of water over his head and leave him in a room with music blaring; the man is then shown dead on the floor with goo (it looks like vomit) on his face and mouth and we hear that he died from hypothermia. A fully nude man (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details) with a bag over his head is shown chained to walls in a room where loud music blares; the man is taken out of the room and men shave his beard (the man is Muslim and this is considered a degrading act). A fully nude man is shown chained to walls in a room, he is slammed against a wall and then waterboarded as men ask him questions about terrorist plots and activities; we see water being poured over a cloth that covers the man’s face and he gags and thrashes (he spits water when the cloth is later removed). A partially nude man is chained to a wet floor with a bag over his head and we see him quaking. A man chained to the ceiling is waterboarded and we hear him gagging and coughing. People discuss “rectal rehydration” and we see a nude man strapped to a table as a doctor holds a tube and appears to be inserting it in to the man’s rectum (out of view) as the man drools something from his mouth. We see a photograph of a pile of nude prisoners. A man builds a wooden box that he plans to use during interrogations of a prisoner and we see large bugs that he plans to put inside the box with the man. A prisoner is taken off a plane and we see that he is injured and is handcuffed (a bloody bandage is shown on his chest).
► We hear that a prisoner was waterboarded 183 times. Two men discuss a method for coercing prisoners to give them information about terrorist activities and discuss “learned helplessness; they list a number of techniques employed in their methods including mock burials, sleep deprivation, loud music, walling (slamming the prisoner against a wall), insects, water boarding, confinement, isolation, etc. A man talks about “crushing the testicles of a child,” and “dousing someone with acid, or gouging out their eyes.” A comment is made about “putting a power drill to someone’s head” and pulling a man’s arm out of the socket. We hear that a government building has been targeted for attack and people in the building are evacuated. We see a video of the World Trade Center towers being struck by planes. We hear about drone strikes and that civilians were killed. A woman talks about witnessing Harvey Milk being shot dead. A woman talks about a bomb being planted outside her daughter’s bedroom. There are many discussions of the US detention and interrogation programs, a torture report, and references to “black sites.” A man is asked if he stole documents and he says that he relocated them. We hear about bombing plots in Germany. A man is assigned to conduct an investigation with “No politics and no press.” A man is told that there is no paper and no printer permitted in an investigation room, and that paper tends to get people in trouble. A man is told to stop putting his objections in writing. There are discussions of a cover-up and people talk about being careful about what they put in writing. Men discuss what they read in reports and that there have been no indictments. There are discussions of reports indicating that torture was tried in 1978 and it didn’t work. There is a discussion about a “dirty bomber.”

The Report LANGUAGE 5

 – About 9 F-words, 6 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (terrible spectacle, extremist, terrorist, zealot, traitor), 3 religious profanities (GD), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. God Willing, God Forbid). | profanity glossary |

The Report SUBSTANCE USE

 – People in a bar are shown drinking.

The Report DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – 9/11, terrorism, torture, accountability, war crimes, politics, Zero Dark 30, Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Sheldon Whitehouse, John Yoo, Leon Panetta, Mark Udall, Dianne Feinstein, Denis McDonough, Harvey Milk, Edward Snowden, National Security, Al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Senate Intelligence Committee, Department of Justice, FBI, CIA, the New York Times, whistleblowers, pseudo-science, last resort, compliance, extremists, ambition, the Espionage Act.

The Report MESSAGE

 – Government officials need to face up to their mistakes and democracy can be messy and requires transparency.