Better to leave that part out if you want to sell tickets.

They might have made a gripping psychological study, with a complex main character, torn by his own contradictions, striving to be an avenging superhero while (say) simultaneously feeding his own needs for power and control -- except, of course, for the unfortunate fact that American movie-makers don't usually do psychologically complex stories, because it makes their money-men nervous

But without psychological complexity, the options for including the sexual assault allegations were limited: Assange as a film noire macho anti-hero, Assange as the dashing Captain Australia falling into the evil machinations of his Moriarity-like nemesis, or Assange as a loud bright geek revealed (after fifteen minutes of fame) as a real schmuck

sex with him would not be considered rape in the US. It is simply too hard to prove.

You might be able to prove that you had sex without protection, but you could never prove that you did not consent to it. Not unless you taped your encounter, and that does not appear to have been the case here.

It would boil down to "He said; she said." And there could be different opinions, very honest different memories about that. The women's case is pretty hopeless in my opinion.

Apparently under Swedish law if Assange appeared for arraignment, he could be placed in custody and asked questions about any topic pretty much under the sun. That is not how it is in the US, but from my reading on Swedish criminal procedure, that is how it is in Sweden. If the law in Sweden has changed, or if someone has a cite that contradicts me, I will be happy to admit that I am wrong. But that is what I read about Swedish procedure. That is, in my view, probably why Assange does not want to go to Sweden to answer the claims against him. The criminal procedures in Sweden would give the US lots of opportunities to question him and to perhaps extradite him regardless of the agreements or absence of agreements between our government and Sweden.

the embassy even if the Swedish prosecution were dropped

That would not surprise me. Can't blame him for that. It's simply wisdom.

Whether you are innocent or guilty of some legal claim against you, you shouldn't really discuss it in public prior to a trial.

Reading on Rotten Tomatoes, it appears to have been blasted by most critics. Then again they work for various news outlets in the main. But there's too much to ignore. And then there's Cumberbatch. I loved his work as Khan and Sherlock. This is just one more man out of sync and possibly with Aspergers.

In Assange' own words:

"I was beginning to get the hacker's disease: no sleep, bottomless curiosity, single-mindedness, and an obsession with precision. Later, when I became well known, people would enjoy pointing out that I had Asperger's or else that I was dangling somewhere on the autistic spectrum. I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, so let's just say I am – all hackers are, and I would argue all men are a little bit autistic."

I take that last sentence to mean he is offering up an excuse or reason for mistreating women sexually. "all men are a little bit autistic"???? Really.

"bottomless curiosity, single-mindedness, and an obsession with precision." Those traits can be considered consistent with autism-spectrum disorders.

I think it's a stretch to apply his words as an excuse for "mistreating women sexually."

I can't stop looking for subtext in well written pieces.

Would have been a great fit.

And that is long before he wound up trapped in a building behind Harrods in London. The movie depicts him traveling the world almost daily. Popping up everywhere.

Sad to see such a small audience in attendance. It's an excellent telling of wikileaks and Assange comes off better than I imagined.

I would think to focus on all the other stuff leaving out the sexual assault charges made sense. The story (from what little I know about it) is about his involvement with WikiLeaks.

Whether or not he did what he's charged with his an entirely different drama in itself.