John Sayles he is not, but this sure was starting to feel like a John Sayles movie. I must say I went in with low expectations since a lot of the critics I tend to agree with trashed this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it was a bit labored around the edgesthe Greg Kinner character didn't quite pull it off in my mind. But overall it worked and I thought it got a lot better in the last half.
Where as some people complained that the characters were too many, and too little on screen, I think it really worked. The best was Bruce Willis. He is only in for 5min, but he totally pulled it off as a credible "bad guy" And what a great bad guy he was. Not the evil, "oh if they only figure out my evil master plan" type, but the embodiment of the neo-con hero If you are stupid enough not to see through the whole "all American beef patty" myth, then you deserve to "eat a bit of sh*t with your food" and that's OK, because "we will cook it so you don't know" If you are smart enough to see through the myth, then "you understand how the big nasty world works, and that's the way it is." He knows what the world is right now, and he is more than OK with it, he loves it and works hard to keep it that way And even with the brief appearance, he hits enough points and alludes to enough touchstones, that you know exactly who he isHe is what Krys Kristopherson talks about, the almost "sci fi like system" we allow ourselves to be penned intoand like the cows the college activist kids try to free, perhaps we too like the GM feed a bit too much to "escape our lot" even when the door is open to us. And this is where the film is a bit rough in the writingthe Ethan Hawke character is there to show us you can stand up to "the system", and even if you fail, its OKbetter to try and fail and have no regrets. Yes, I agree with it all but he came across a bit too much as the writer/director's soliloquy
In many ways, the film could be called "choice" as all the characters are confronted with choice. In the case of the migrant workers, their choice of course is the most starkabject poverty and misery in Mexico or less abject poverty and misery in America. Greg Kinner discovers the truth, and decides money and comfort are more important. Although Amber and her new found friends fail in their attempt to change things, they refuse to accept the choices they are given and consequently, there is hope for the future.
Where as some people complained that the characters were too many, and too little on screen, I think it really worked. The best was Bruce Willis. He is only in for 5min, but he totally pulled it off as a credible "bad guy" And what a great bad guy he was. Not the evil, "oh if they only figure out my evil master plan" type, but the embodiment of the neo-con hero If you are stupid enough not to see through the whole "all American beef patty" myth, then you deserve to "eat a bit of sh*t with your food" and that's OK, because "we will cook it so you don't know" If you are smart enough to see through the myth, then "you understand how the big nasty world works, and that's the way it is." He knows what the world is right now, and he is more than OK with it, he loves it and works hard to keep it that way And even with the brief appearance, he hits enough points and alludes to enough touchstones, that you know exactly who he isHe is what Krys Kristopherson talks about, the almost "sci fi like system" we allow ourselves to be penned intoand like the cows the college activist kids try to free, perhaps we too like the GM feed a bit too much to "escape our lot" even when the door is open to us. And this is where the film is a bit rough in the writingthe Ethan Hawke character is there to show us you can stand up to "the system", and even if you fail, its OKbetter to try and fail and have no regrets. Yes, I agree with it all but he came across a bit too much as the writer/director's soliloquy
In many ways, the film could be called "choice" as all the characters are confronted with choice. In the case of the migrant workers, their choice of course is the most starkabject poverty and misery in Mexico or less abject poverty and misery in America. Greg Kinner discovers the truth, and decides money and comfort are more important. Although Amber and her new found friends fail in their attempt to change things, they refuse to accept the choices they are given and consequently, there is hope for the future.