Fast Food Nation
Richard Linklater's new film adapted from Eric Schlosser's best selling book of the same name (both Linklater and Scholsser wrote the screenplay and I now really want to read the book) packs quite a punch. And while this is not a cinematic masterpiece I liked it quite a lot (enjoy is not the right word to use for this film).
The story starts at the US/Mexico border. Several Mexican immigrants are crossing the over into the US in the hopes of finding a better life. The group includes Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), her husband Raul (Wilmer Valderrama) and her sister Coco (Ana Claudia Talancon). Once they arrive in the States some of them are take to the local slaughterhouse which is where they will be working. Both Raul and Coco take jobs working there but Sylvia can't stand the atmosphere in the slaughterhouse and decides to work in a hotel as a housekeeper even though the pay is less. Coco winds up working on the assembly line and gets involved with Mike (Bobby Cannavale) who is in charge of the assembly line and those who work there.
In a connecting storyline Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear), who is an executive with Mickey's fast food restaurant, is in town to inspect the slaughterhouse because there are reports that cow manure is mixed in with the meat. Before Don checks out the slaughterhouse he goes to a local Mickey's and meets a friendly young woman named Amber (Ashley Johnson) who works there.
He also meets Ashley's boss Tony (Esai Morales) who tells Don to talk to a local rancher named Rudy Martin (Kris Kristoffersen) about the slaughterhouse. Rudy doesn't have anything good to say about the place and doesn't much care for the fast food industry. Another person Don speaks to is Harry Rydell (Bruce Willis) who is a beef wholesaler. Harry doesn't know what all the fuss is about. According to him sometimes you have to eat shit.
That is all I am going to say about what happens in the film. Some of what you see is very graphic and I will tell you that I couldn't look at certain things in the film. There are many issues being dealt with in this film. One is the exploitation of the illegal workers. Why do these companies lure these people to cross the border and work for low wages and in horrible conditions? Why aren't the governments of the countries that the workers come from provide better opportunities for their people? Why don't people care about where their food comes from and how it is produced (this factor is improving because many of us do care)? And, yes the film is certainly anti-meat eating but that is not a shock because Linklater is a vegetarian. And as a fellow veggie that suits me just fine.
Amber turns out to be one of my favorite characters and if you see the film you will know why.
Ms. Johnson does a fine job of portraying her as a young woman who becomes enlightened. One of the best performances in the film is by Sandino Moreno. Her Sylvia has such a sadness to her and also such sensitivity. I also enjoyed Cannavale as the bullying Mike. And Kristoffersen and Willis were wonderful in their cameos.
Most of the different sequences fit together nicely but once in a while something doesn't flow. But this is a very worthwhile film and I do hope that people go to see it (I was crying at the end of the film). And while I never proselytize about what people should eat I would be very happy if this film turns some people into vegetarians.
The story starts at the US/Mexico border. Several Mexican immigrants are crossing the over into the US in the hopes of finding a better life. The group includes Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), her husband Raul (Wilmer Valderrama) and her sister Coco (Ana Claudia Talancon). Once they arrive in the States some of them are take to the local slaughterhouse which is where they will be working. Both Raul and Coco take jobs working there but Sylvia can't stand the atmosphere in the slaughterhouse and decides to work in a hotel as a housekeeper even though the pay is less. Coco winds up working on the assembly line and gets involved with Mike (Bobby Cannavale) who is in charge of the assembly line and those who work there.
In a connecting storyline Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear), who is an executive with Mickey's fast food restaurant, is in town to inspect the slaughterhouse because there are reports that cow manure is mixed in with the meat. Before Don checks out the slaughterhouse he goes to a local Mickey's and meets a friendly young woman named Amber (Ashley Johnson) who works there.
He also meets Ashley's boss Tony (Esai Morales) who tells Don to talk to a local rancher named Rudy Martin (Kris Kristoffersen) about the slaughterhouse. Rudy doesn't have anything good to say about the place and doesn't much care for the fast food industry. Another person Don speaks to is Harry Rydell (Bruce Willis) who is a beef wholesaler. Harry doesn't know what all the fuss is about. According to him sometimes you have to eat shit.
That is all I am going to say about what happens in the film. Some of what you see is very graphic and I will tell you that I couldn't look at certain things in the film. There are many issues being dealt with in this film. One is the exploitation of the illegal workers. Why do these companies lure these people to cross the border and work for low wages and in horrible conditions? Why aren't the governments of the countries that the workers come from provide better opportunities for their people? Why don't people care about where their food comes from and how it is produced (this factor is improving because many of us do care)? And, yes the film is certainly anti-meat eating but that is not a shock because Linklater is a vegetarian. And as a fellow veggie that suits me just fine.
Amber turns out to be one of my favorite characters and if you see the film you will know why.
Ms. Johnson does a fine job of portraying her as a young woman who becomes enlightened. One of the best performances in the film is by Sandino Moreno. Her Sylvia has such a sadness to her and also such sensitivity. I also enjoyed Cannavale as the bullying Mike. And Kristoffersen and Willis were wonderful in their cameos.
Most of the different sequences fit together nicely but once in a while something doesn't flow. But this is a very worthwhile film and I do hope that people go to see it (I was crying at the end of the film). And while I never proselytize about what people should eat I would be very happy if this film turns some people into vegetarians.
posted by Film Fanatic | 2:12 PM
1 Comments:
just watched Fast Food Nation, it's an impactful flick to say the least... earlier today i passed up a sausage mcmuffin because of it. Evidently it is worth passing up fast food for more than health reasons.
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