Staged

dgarwood

I kept thinking throughout the whole film that there was something inauthentic to it. It seemed staged. Manufactured. Not all of it but certain plot points seemed "created". That kept me from really enjoying the film. Additionally, Megan's Hate Crime goes largely unpunished, at least what they chose to show. If she had scrawled a racial slur on that young man's window, it would have been taken very seriously. It sends a dangerous message, although that can be said for a lot of this film.

Bottom line on this film for me is that it doesn't feel authentic. It feels false. Even though she probably is guilty of it as well, I never get the feeling proceedings have been staged while watching a film by Barbara Kopple.

score 5/10

dgarwood 16 September 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1947035/