STARVING THE BEAST – Review

Review by Stephen Tronicek

The closest movie that one could compare STARVING THE BEAST too is last years masterful comedy, THE BIG SHORT. They share very rapid fire pacing structures, feature interesting true to life characters, and both manage to be hilarious and at the same time completely terrifying. Starving the Beast is a great documentary, one that bombards you with opinions and information at such a pace that while much like in the aforementioned Short, you probably won’t be able to fully grasp the concepts at hand, the overall idea worms its way into your head and shocks you.

STARVING THE BEAST happens to be about the complex political dealings that come with public higher education reform, mainly the effects that have come with it at the University of Texas, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, and a variety of other schools.

The presentation of this information is the best thing that STARVING THE BEAST actually does. It’s less interested in a definitive truth and more in the tensions that arrive when the more liberal and conservative aspects of the reform argument collide over the issue, and in presenting both sides Starving the Beast gives itself the beautiful advantage of levity. There’s a certain level of intensity to the back and forths, that while somewhat confusing, is so palatable that you can’t help but almost laugh and gawk at the speed of it all. It helps that the film is cut fast blowing through heaps of information, and never really letting up as the speed of the pacing compliments the more heated aspects of the argument.

As entertaining as that is, the implications here are pretty terrifying. The impending doom that was bursting through the seams of THE BIG SHORT is present in this movie, but it’s in real time. This is a documentary, not a dramatic work. Higher education is important, higher education is a goal of many Americans. Starving the Beast shows us how the entire thing is falling apart under the strains of political and financial burdens. The propelling pace, for as much levity it provides, is tinged with the  feeling of bottomed out terror that this perspective provides. This makes the film both compelling in its debate structure, but also in the twisting adrenaline that comes from the consequences just beyond the frame.

“Levity and terror” sounds like a broken up oxymoron, but the results are quite literally breathtaking. STARVING THE BEAST is a documentary about politics and dealings, yet feels just as intense and pulse-pounding as last years, Cartel Land. As a documentary, it jumps around a little too quickly for audience understanding, but it trades more complex understandings for the brisk pace that makes it a very good film.