Reviews by Bob Ignizio
I'm
trying to get caught up with the films I missed this year before
making my obligatory “Best of the Year” list. Most of the films
I'm watching have already been reviewed by other writers here on the
Cleveland Movie Blog, but a handful slipped through the cracks for
whatever reason. So to what degree I can, I'll be reviewing some of
these films that are now available on home video. This time around
I've got capsule reviews for a pair of documentaries and one arthouse
dramedy “based on a true story”: PAYBACK,
THE INVISIBLE WAR,
and HYSTERIA.
PAYBACK
Based
on the nonfiction book Payback:
Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth
by noted Canadian author and activist Margaret Atwood, PAYBACK
is
an exploration of the concept of debt and the various effects it has
on society. Although monetary debt is dealt with, it is by no means
the only kind of debt covered by the film. In fact the most
interesting segment to me was the one about two families involved in
an Albanian blood feud, and the insistence of the man who believes
himself to be the injured party on dealing with things personally
rather than allowing the legal system to settle it. There's also a
segment on the BP oil spill that explores what the company really
owes to the earth for the damage the incident caused compared with
the monetary fines that were assessed by the United States
government. The other segments are all interesting and thought
provoking as well. That said, PAYBACK
doesn't entirely work as a whole, and while Atwood is an excellent
writer, her skills as a public speaker are somewhat lacking, which
wouldn't be an issue except that she speaks the opening and closing
statements of the film. Of course it goes without saying that most
American conservatives will hate this on principle alone. 2 1/2 out
of 4 stars.
