One of the best true crime drama movies of recent years is on TV tonight

Holding a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, the one-of-a-kind film stars an A-list actress.

The 2023 film stars Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You) as Reality Winner, a former American intelligence specialist. On 3 June 2017, at the age of 25, Winner was confronted by FBI agents (played by Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis) at her home.

This was to ask the young woman questions regarding her suspected role in the mishandling of classified information.

"A cryptic conversation begins and Reality's life quickly begins to unravel," the plot synopsis adds.

The debut feature from director Tina Satter, Reality was adapted from her play Is This a Room.

What makes the movie truly unique is that its dialogue is taken nearly entirely from the real-life transcript of the FBI's dealings with Winner on that fateful day.

This is to the extent that when its three lead characters go to say something that was redacted in the transcript, they literally disappear from the screen for a few seconds in a fascinating stylistic choice.

Thanks to the film's remarkably believable lead performances (particularly a revelatory Sweeney), its spotlighting of a fascinating true story and its eye-opening account of the psychological mind games that can play out during an FBI interrogation, Reality earned rave reviews from critics.

Holding a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, you can check out a sample of some of the glowing write-ups for the film below:

Financial Times: "It is a stark X-ray of state power both deeply tied to the present moment and the timeless dread of the knock at the door."

New Statesman: "The film is at its most straightforwardly chilling in its reliance on the spoken word -- and its forensic skill in reading between the lines."

The New York Times: "The banality is chilling."

Observer (UK): "A stranger-than-fiction reminder of the precarious times in which we live, and of what happens when individuals challenge authorities less troubled by truth than retribution."

Syndey Morning Herald: "Reality is a bizarre blend of the gripping and the banal -- a film in which politeness is used as a weapon and guile is disguised as embarrassment."

Washington Post: "This tense, mesmerisingly paced drama unfolds with a steady drip of mundane moments that gather walloping force as the minutes tick by."

Reality was released as TV movie in the US but got a limited cinema release in Ireland and the UK.

It will be shown on Film4 tonight at 9pm. The movie will also be available to watch on Channel 4's streaming service after it airs.

For JOE's list of the other films on TV this evening, click here.