Feelings on the Inside

So, Exit Through the Gift Shop may not have won the Oscar for Best Documentary Film of 2010, but I did just sit down to watch the movie that did, Inside Job. It's a look at the banking crisis that began in 2008, narrated by Matt Damon.

I enjoyed Exit Through the Gift Shop. Mind you, I didn't necessarily think it was "best movie of the year" material, but I was definitely entertained. But I have to say that if this was the competition, Banksy was robbed.

Alright, that's overstating things a bit. Inside Job isn't a bad movie. But what starts out interesting gets increasingly dry as it continues on. This isn't because of complex explanations of financial matters, either; most of the "what happened?" comes in the first 30 minutes or so of the documentary. Instead, the film starts to bog down in repetition. Cut to another interview with an author who saw it coming. Cut to photo of a bad guy responsible for the meltdown. Cut to on-screen text informing us that said bad guy declined to be interviewed for this film. Repeat.

But even the early "what happened" portion of the film is a bit hit and miss. I couldn't help but compare it to Michael Moore's earlier documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. Inside Job goes into more detail, but at the level the average person should understand, doesn't really tell you any more than Moore's film (which also presents most of the same info in a rather more entertaining manner).

Still, I suppose there are some people out there who can't stomach Michael Moore. If that's the case for you, then I'd certainly recommend Inside Job as an alternative. I'd rate it a C+. I'm not sure there's a course of action for you to take after seeing it other than "get mad," but this feels to me like information any conscientious citizen ought to be exposed to.