Bad acting, unrealistic characters. Got lost between being a movie with an important message and just a movie about people. I found it hard to care about the characters.
Stick with the book and Food inc.
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I don't know, I could be wrong, I often am.
haven't read the book, books are often better than the films. Interesting that they didn't do a documentary of the book but Food Inc. is a film that is closest to this. As far as the characters, I found them realistic, I thought the acting was good, and I believed the characters as well. In addition, despite the R rating mainly for language and brief nudity-- which I had to skip for my students, it plays well to my mainly Latino Spanish speaking students (high school health).
shareI agree. It actually felt like it was a pro-fast food movie instead of an anti-fast food movie. And what was the whole point of the main character going to Colorado to find out why crap is going into meat if he just leaves after a brief explanation and told it was ok if the meat is cooked?
The whole film is a mess and the book is far superior. I haven't seen Food Inc. yet but I am going to soon.
Last Seen in Theatres:
Toy Story 3: 5/5
Inception: 5/5
Despicable Me: 3/5
I think it's a very good film, with brilliant acting and great themes. I think where it throws off some viewers is that, as in real-life, there's seemingly no pay-off. The ending initially feels like we're left in limbo, as the fates of the characters seem unresolved. In that regards, it's essentially a slice-of-life kind of picture. You want to know more about Kinnear's character, the Mexican immigrants and the teenage girl...
And yet, you do get resolve, albeit not like a BIG dramatic movie one. (Spoilers ahead)
Kinnear does the practical thing and basically sells out so that he doesn't lose his job. To the character's credit, he does mention that further study is needed, but it's a deferral to someone else, passing off the buck so that he doesn't have to deal with what he's discovered. And yet, despite this, you empathize with the character, which shows us just how it is that the machine continues unabated. Kinnear's character is no hero. But it's hard to say he's a villain either. He's ultimately weak, which is a trait that's all too common in society beset by pressures.
The Mexican girl, who up till the end, manages to maintain a measure of integrity, is suddenly forced to comprise everything, including her very person, for the sake of saving her husband after an plant-accident leaves him with hospitals bills they can't afford. Her story is the darkest and most tragic and the one the film ends on. She, in many respects, is, like the cattle, prodded and pushed to their eventual slaughter and dismemberment. Her tears at the end are for the poor creatures, herself and really all the migrant workers who are exploited by a corporate/political machine that doesn't care about them, and will use them up in the belief they're doing them a favor.
The teenage girl is the story's hopeful side. She yearns for a life of integrity, and learns the lessons imparted upon her from an uncle (with past regrets), using it to make some courageous stances, one that fails, but one that succeeds. She leaves the film on a new life path of proactive movement, away from the trap, and with like-minded individuals.
Everything about these three characters is extremely realistic and human. It's a great film that will benefit from discussion afterwards.
Agreed. The movie ends on an ambiguous note to signify the never-ending circle of how people realize they're being screwed over by the industry and yet they do nothing, as they remain just as powerless and penniless as they started. I think the scene with the cows' refusal to run away shows this quite clearly.
shareAnd what was the whole point of the main character going to Colorado to find out why crap is going into meat if he just leaves after a brief explanation and told it was ok if the meat is cooked?
Read the book, haven't seen the move and to be honest I probably never will.
It's All Gushy!
The movie threw every bad thing about the meat industry and illegal immigration onto the screen. The events that occurred in the movie have all happened somewhere, but they don't all happen to such a relatively small group of people. The hardships and dangers somebody takes on to come to America illegally have all been well-documented. So have the excesses of the meat industry. But mostly working in a meat packing plant is just a dull, smelly job that's physically demanding. Workers will suffer occasional cuts, and if you can't stand the sight of slaughtered animals (which was accurately portrayed in the film) you shouldn't be working there. It's not a career anybody would aspire to, but it does give the people working there a chance at a better life than they had before.