ORWELL: 2+2=5

(director/writer: Raul Peck; cinematographer: Benjamin Bloodwell, Stuart Luck, Julian Schwanitz, Aera, Maung Nadi, Roman T. editor: Alexandra Strauss; music: Alexel Algui; cast: Damian Lewis (Narrator/voice of Orwell); Runtime: 119; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: George Chignell, Alex Gibney, Raul Peck, Nick Shumaker; NEON; 2025)

“A thoughtful, ambitious and sometimes provocative film that at times becomes muddled and meandering.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Raul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro”/”The Young Karl Marx”) directs and writes this documentary on the great writer George Orwell by using his classic books (“1984” and “Animal Farm”) to warn us of the dangers of a fascist government. His “1984” was written in 1949, and was completed a few months before his death in Scotland.

It’s a thoughtful, ambitious and sometimes provocative film that at times becomes muddled and meandering, as it states its case for Orwell being the seer of the modern world. The following Orwellian phrase tells us all we need to know about his politics: If Big Brother insists 2+2=5, then that’s a fact.

In the dramatizations, Orwell’s voice is provided by the actor Damian Lewis.

Reminding us of Orwell’s warnings against Big Brother is useful knowledge to have for those living in Trump’s America. Though far from a perfect film, it still gets out the message that it’s best to live in a democracy. Orwell’s visions couldn’t be more relevant for today’s divisive world, but the film never gets around to actually showing us that is so. It’s also overlong, overstuffed and rather dull.

It played at the Toronto Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 11/8/2025  GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com