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Freakonomics: The Movie
R1 - America - Magnolia Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (9th April 2011). |
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The Film
 “The book was better.” We hear it all the time. Books and films are two entirely different mediums – so I really don’t like to compare them unless absolutely necessary – but it seems that, despite the dichotomy of the written word and the mostly visual format of film, the fact that books are frequently being adapted into movies continues to incite comparisons. Personally, I find it more important that a filmic adaptation captures the essence of what was written, rather than slavishly keep to the source material – at least when we’re talking about a novel. That’s why my favorite book – Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” – is also one of my favorite movies. Anyone who’s read the book and seen the film knows that they are entirely different products, but I love both the same because the essence of the written version remains intact with Steven Spielberg’s otherwise entirely different take on the story. (I also don’t discount the nostalgia factor playing a huge role in my affection for “Jurassic Park” as a film. The film proved to my seven-year-old self that dinosaurs were still alive and kicking, and made me want to be Dr. Alan Grant when I grew up. I literally wore out my VHS copy.) I take you on that little trip down memory lane for one reason: so you understand that when I say, “Freakonomics” was a better book (which I read in a sociology class a few years back) than a movie, I’m not coming from some intellectualist school of thought where the book is ALWAYS the one and only way to experience a particular work. It’s just that, in the case of “Freakonomics” – perhaps because it’s a work of fact rather than fiction – I think authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner crafted a better, more comprehensive and stimulating product in their book than directors Alex Gibney, Eugene Jarecki, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Morgan Spurlock, and Seth Gordon have in their film. Levitt, an economist, and Dubner, a journalist, sought to expose “the hidden side of everything” in their non-fiction work by explaining economic and social theory in terms that even the disenfranchised layman could understand. The filmed version of “Freakonomics” attempts the same thing – and does so admirably and mostly successfully – but at the cost of simply rethreading concepts from the book in a format that is a bit sloppy for a feature film (and seemingly better fit for television via a mini-series or series). An omnibus-style documentary, “Freakonomics” tackles a number of issues in little vignettes, which are stitched together by excerpts from an overarching interview with the books authors, conducted by “The King of Kong” (2007) director Seth Gordon. Levitt and Dubner talk about a number of sociological subjects in broad strokes – like parenting and the power of incentives. Their little commentaries then lead into the various vignettes. Each short film-within-the-film is directed by a different, reasonably well-known documentarian. Morgan Spurlock – of “Super Size Me” (2004) fame – helms a piece about the power of names, and whether or not a girl named Misty, or in the actual test case, Temptress, is more likely to end up working as a stripper than someone named Emily. The conclusion is that it’s not exactly the name that makes the person, but their social class, ethnicity, race, and level of education (all of which are deeply tied to social stratification within a white, male-dominated society like the United States). Dominance of particular names within particular groups, who are already predisposed to a life “on the pole” or as drug dealers simply because of their social standing and, in turn, level of education, has lead to this false relationship between names and adulthood success. The second segment called “Pure Corruption”, by “Client 9” (2010) writer/director Alex Gibney, looks at the seedy underbelly of Sumo wrestling – seriously. A sport laced with both a ritualistic 2,000 year old legacy of honor and a whole industry based on fixed matches and cheats simultaneously, the world of Sumo was up-ended in the mid-1990's when a pair of wrestlers exposed the tricks, schemes and pay offs to ensure one opponent won over the other. The wrestlers mysteriously died in the same hospital on the same day a short while after they broken the scandal – coincidence? Gibney thinks not. Nicely juxtaposed to Gibney’s somewhat absurd and fun segment is “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life”, written and directed by Eugene Jarecki (who previously crafted “Why We Fight” (2005)). It’s by far the darkest chapter of the film. Like really, really dark. A dialogue and exploration on the dynamic of cause and effect, “Life” proposes that the declining crime rates of the 1990's are a direct result of “Roe vs. Wade”, the infamous court case that legalized abortion in the 1970's. There’s little politicizing here; instead cold hard facts support the case. The final chapter, from “Jesus Camp” (2006) creators Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, asks a simple question: can a 9th grader be bribed to succeed? The filmmaking duo follow two high school freshmen who are paid $50 a month by the University of Chicago to maintain “C-or-better” grades in all of their classes. The results of their test case are questionable – one of the kids does well, the other doesn’t. Levitt and Dubner state that monetary incentives often aren’t enough – there’s equal motivation from social and moral encouragement – incentives do matter and can lead to improved test scores and a student’s willingness to apply themselves in educational scenarios. “Freakonomics” is a decidedly decent documentary, but it has problems. First, the omnibus-compilation style of delivery, while theoretically perfect for the material, is a bit poorly handled in practice. For instance, Morgan Spurlock, ever the showman, is more concerned with flashy cartoons, sound effects, and his usual sense of humor to tell his story. Some of the other directors… aren’t. The patchwork nature of the documentary just becomes distracting after a while, and leaves the proceedings feeling kind of scattershot. “Freakonomics” is also overly ambitious in scope and, at the same time, too limited by the format of a 90-minute feature film. Each one of the segments could easily be expanded out to a single hour long TV special so, as was said before, I think that the material was really better fit for a mini-series or long-running TV show (perhaps on the Discovery Channel?) rather than this film. Yes, “Freakonomics” is still worth a look, mostly because, despite the flaws, it’s a really interesting, thought provoking documentary. But, it’s also a bit of a meandering, disjointed blob that was frankly just better handled as a series of books.
Video
Shot natively in HD, and surprisingly light on typically-tattered-n-torn documentary footage sourced from less-than-pristine materials, “Freakonomics” appears to be surprisingly fit on standard definition DVD. Actually, I’d say that it looks pretty spectacular. Each segment – presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen – is uniform in the basics despite being shot by a number of different directors. Colors are nicely saturated; contrast and lighting are natural and exhibit appropriate depth. The occasional animated sequences feature distinct line art and only show mild banding (probably related to the source) in a few scenes. Sharpness is almost consistently strong, the source is free of any sort of debris, and the blend of CG text and graphics is seamless. “Freakonomics” may not be cinematic, but it fares comparably to other new-form documentaries from the likes of Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, both of who’s work features a certain amount of polish that their rougher ancestors lack.
Audio
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is exactly the sort of serviceable mix you’d expect from a modern documentary. Primarily concerned with delivering intelligible dialogue and clear narration from the center speaker, as well as some mild use of the left, right and rears to provide some score-fueled ambiance, “Freakonomics” isn’t a sonic powerhouse; but it does get the job done. Optional Spanish subtitles are included.
Extras
I’m always glad when a documentary includes supplements, because many often don’t. It’s even better when said extras – as they are here – are actually focused on the production of the film and not just more talk about a subject already covered ad-infinitum in the main feature. “Freakonomics” includes a staggering amount of audio commentaries, further interviews with book authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, and a promo featurette from Mark Cuban’s HDNet about the film. A series of bonus trailers and a minuscule text page containing information about the “Freakonomic” books is also included. All video based content is presented 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen unless otherwise noted. The audio commentaries are the clear highlight of this disc. A producer’s commentary, obviously with “Freakonomics” producers Chris Romano, Dan O'Meara, and Chad Troutwine, runs the full length of the film. The producers discuss a number of subjects including the seemingly insurmountable hurdle of getting an omnibus style documentary of the ground in today’s more fast-paced market, as well as offering general insights into the production of the various segments. Next we find a simply massive series of director’s audio commentaries. You can choose to view each individual segment with scene-specific audio commentary or simply click “play all” to get the full film with commentary from all 8 participants at their appropriate times. The scene-specific tracks are as follows: - “Introduction” by Seth Gordon. - “Parenting” by Seth Gordon. - “A Roshanda by Any Other Name” by Morgan Spurlock and co-writer Jeremy Chilnick. - “Cheating” by Seth Gordon. - “Pure Corruption” by Alex Gibney. - “Cause & Effect” by Seth Gordon. - “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life” by Eugene Jarecki. - “Incentives” by Seth Gordon. - “Can a 9th Grader be Bribed to Succeed?” by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. - “So Now What?” by Seth Gordon. Also worth watching is a 14-part interview with “Freakonomics” authors found under the tab “Additional Interviews” (37 minutes 43 seconds). Throughout the film authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner discuss a number of topics that lead into each larger segment – usually via a lead in directed by Seth Gordon. The two men obviously have a lot to talk about, a fact proven by near-40-minutes of deleted interviews included here as a supplement. The individual segments are as follows: - What is “Freakonomics”? - Are we biased? - How do we pick our topics? - The incentives of daycare - The Bagel Man. - The incentives of hand washing -The broken windows theory - Correlation vs. causality - How to be a good parent - How to find a good doctor - Does money win elections? - Debunking conventional wisdom. - Swimming Pools vs. Guns - Are we cynics? “HDNet: A Look at ‘Freakonomics’” (4 minutes 46 seconds) is the typical promo featurette from the high def oriented television network. These commercials – shown on the network to promote the latest theatrical release from Cuban’s Magnolia and Landmark Theaters empire – showcase a ton of film clips with some fluffy, exclusive, interviews. Not really the best use of your time. “Freakonomic Books” is a simple text feature consisting of 3 pages that offer information about the – surprise – “Freakonomics” book series. Visit freakonomicsbook.com for more information. “Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment” includes bonus trailers for: - “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer” (2 minutes 1 second) - “All Good Things” (2 minutes 21 seconds) - “Night Catches Us” (2 minutes 28 seconds) - “Monsters” (1 minute 42 seconds) - “HDNet” promo (1 minute)
Packaging
The single disc DVD-9 from Magnolia Home Entertainment comes housed in an eco-case via Amaray.
Overall
“Freakonomics” is an imperfect documentary. The book-to-film adaptation is often provocative, ultimately fascinating, and has enough flashy visual pizzazz to keep you interested for the relatively brief 93-minutes that it asks for your attention. But, the film is also disjointed, meandering, and wholly scattershot in what it wants to say and how it says it. Magnolia’s DVD is a fine package with good video and audio and a few interesting extras. Give this a rent.
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