I do like a nice surprise. I don't like not-nice surprises, or shocks to be more exact. I got both last night. When I arrived at the BFI Southbank I was told that their surprise film screening that evening, as part of the BFI Film Festival, was showing uptown in Leicester Square. I was at the wrong venue with a minute to go before the start. Gulp. So I hot-footed it there in high heels and missed the start of the film which was...drum roll...Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.
Moore sometimes has a tendency to labour his point but not here. This is an engaging, insightful film which explores how capitalism has taken over from democracy in the US and the historical corruption which lies behind the recently engineered crash (yes, I said engineered-the film explains all). I mean, we all know banks have been pulling sheep loads of wool over our eyes but I never realised just how much American banks have been pulling the strings of Presidential puppets. It's really scary.
Of course Moore has touched on capitalism in previous films but never in-depth, with a global recession as his reference point. He has some great scoops. He talks to a guy who used to be known as the "VIP man" at a big bank. This meant he sorted out special deals for friends of the boss (congress members, captains of industry etc) often saving them millions in fees and interest on loans while ordinary people were losing their homes.
He also talks to distressed people affected by the downturn. Including families who found out that the death of their late husband or wife had earned their former employer (eg Bank of America, Wal-Mart) thousands from secret life insurance policies. A corporate practice known as "Dead Peasant" insurance. As ever he uses humour and inventive use of archive footage to demonise Bush or remark on Reagan's ridiculousness.
I'm not spoiling it by telling you any of this because they're just a fraction of what Moore unearths. And his door stepping pranks are (as you'd expect) brilliant. But I was surprised that the big man himself didn't make an appearance given the surprise film's billing as "the hottest ticket in the entire festival". I think I was slightly short changed - Micky Rourke and director Darren Aronofsky gave a talk after The Wrestler last year - but maybe the budget has been cut....
The film had a limited release in the US a month ago and is released here in February. It's an eye-popping must-see. Especially if you're a banker as you'll need to have a defence at the ready for your next dinner party.
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