The film’s great virtue is also what makes it difficult and somewhat
dry viewing — it’s an intelligent movie about economics. As such, it would
probably make more sense to have it reviewed by economists than film critics,
but how many economists? Two might disagree. At least three economists then,
to break a possible tie.
As a work of entertainment, “Life and Debt” will be appreciated most by
people who either understand economics or have strong convictions on the
subject without particularly understanding it. Documentarian Stephanie Black
brings an artist’s finesse to the presentation. As part of the narration, she
uses a text by the writer Jamaica Kincaid and supplements Kincaid’s word
pictures with real pictures.
To many Americans, Jamaica is paradise, a beautiful resort area where,
after a year of hard work, visitors flop in a beach chair and order drinks
from friendly waiters. The island’s poverty goes unseen, and, even if seen, it
remains mysterious. Black’s film contends that Jamaica’s poverty, which is on
the rise, is the direct result of monetary policies adopted by the world’s
leading economies.
A former Jamaican prime minister, the late Michael Manley, talks about his
experiences in office. The country needed money for internal improvements, but
before big banks would agree to lend the money, they insisted that Jamaica
open up its border to foreign products and devalue its currency to encourage
foreign investment. This pattern, according to Black, has been disastrous.
The International Monetary Fund spokesmen, who appear in the film, suggest
that the Jamaican economy is, in fact, on track, that these are just growing
pains. The pain part is clear. The growing part is less certain. But to fully
assess the arguments here, one would almost need another documentary that,
with equal passion, expressed the opposite point of view.
– Mick LaSalle
`FINAL’
Drama. Starring Denis Leary and Hope Davis. Directedby Campbell Scott. (Not rated. 111 minutes. At the 4 Star.)
.
“Final” stars Denis Leary as a man who wakes to find himself in a mental
hospital. His mind is playing tricks, and he’s not sure how he got there, but
he has a general impression: He believes he was injured in 1999, cryogenically
frozen and reawakened 400 years later. Poor guy: He’d like to party like it’s
2399, but they won’t let him out of his room.
Leary is a fast talker in the midst of one of the slowest-moving films in a
long, long, long while. Campbell Scott directs the picture like Ingmar Bergman
under heavy sedation, with endless pauses between lines. Between conversations,
Campbell indulges in never-ending interludes without dialogue, including one
of Leary pacing and running circles around his room.
Leary is obsessed with an idea, and his therapist (Hope Davis) can’t shake
him of it. He believes that Davis and her boss plan to give him a “final”
injection that will kill him. He thinks everyone’s 1999 styles and clothing
are just a device to keep him unsuspecting of his ultimate fate.
Scenes go nowhere. At all. The therapist enters the room, talks to the
patient, and the relationship is the same at the end of the scene as it was at
the beginning. Written by Bruce McIntosh, the film is like watching a very bad
play as presented by a very bad director. Not only does nothing happen, but
nothing keeps happening, and in slow motion — until the last half hour, when
things almost pick up. By then it’s too late.
Leary, a good actor, tries his best. Scott does no favor to Davis,
apparently directing her to be cold and deadpan, thus robbing her of any
emotional palette.
“Final” was shot on digital tape for a fraction of what a studio film would
have cost. Soon everyone will be able to make movies. Pictures like “Final”
make that seem not so good after all.
– Advisory: This film contains strong language.
– Mick LaSalle
– Mick LaSalle / — Mick LaSalle