Poitras captures all of this in images that shimmer with clarity and precision. There's something wonderfully clear-eyed about Risk, even as the questions and moods it ignites are murky and unsettling.

The access is impressive, and the oily, paranoid and "ruthlessly pragmatic" persona that emerges here is candid enough despite Poitras's intermittent narration.

A serviceable portrait of vanity.

The release of Poitras' film has become the occasion for large portions of the American media to vent their malicious hatred of Assange.