Raoul Peck’s Orwell: 2+2=5 uses George Orwell’s powerful words as a weapon to fight against the growing authoritarianism in our digital age. This documentary, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 and quickly received seven Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations—including Best Feature and Best Director—does more than just tell Orwell’s story. It’s a raw, emotional remix of his warnings, blending his life with a sharp collage of today’s horrors.
Peck, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind I Am Not Your Negro, turns Orwell’s essays, diaries, and books into a mirror for today’s world—showing how surveillance capitalism, political lies, and the loss of truth are all connected. With a 100-minute run time, it’s tight but intense, leaving you feeling a little paranoid and scrolling your phone with new eyes. If you’ve ever wondered how 1984 went from fiction to a kind of scary prediction, this film is your wake-up call.
The film shines brightest when it focuses on Orwell’s early years, especially his time in Burma, where he developed his fierce opposition to totalitarianism. Using stark black-and-white photos and diary readings, Peck shows Orwell’s fragile, sickly side—smoking, suffering from tuberculosis—before he became the iconic figure we know. Things get even more intense in the second half of the film, where Peck draws clear parallels between Orwell’s warnings and today’s headlines. Clips from the Iraq war’s false “weapons of mass destruction,” January 6th’s Capitol riot, and social media manipulation are all woven together. We see how governments and corporations use euphemisms—like “newspeak”—to hide brutal realities. The film doesn’t hold back, comparing MAGA rallies to Big Brother’s worship and tech billionaires to Orwell’s Inner Party.
Damian Lewis’s narration is fantastic, giving Orwell’s words a sense of urgency. His gravelly voice makes lines like “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world” hit hard, especially when paired with visuals of lies spreading on social media. However, the film can feel a bit preachy at times. Peck, who is a Haitian activist with a left-leaning viewpoint, mainly targets right-wing leaders and corporations, with less focus on authoritarian tendencies—like cancel culture or government control in so-called “progressive” countries. Some viewers have pointed out that the film sometimes cherry-picks moments to paint certain figures as villains, which can come across as propaganda.
In the end, Orwell: 2+2=5 isn’t perfect. It’s messy, urgent, and full of raw emotion—just like Orwell himself. With an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes and strong reviews, it’s earned its place in awards conversations by refusing to stay silent. Peck doesn’t give easy answers—only the stark truth that if we accept that 2+2 can equal 5, then who’s really pulling the strings? In a time when truth is more fragile than ever, this documentary is more than just a watch—it’s a must-see.
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