SLIFF 2010 Review: THE SHOCK DOCTRINE

Review originally published on January 28, 2010.

Directed by Matt Whitecross and Michael Winterbottom, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE is an attempt to shed light on similarities and connections between western “Disaster” Capitalism and the decline of financial stability and human rights throughout many parts of the world.

The documentary is based upon ideas presented in Naomi Klein’s book of the same titles and includes segments from Klein’s various lectures on the topics of her book. What begins as a fairly startling and revealing documentary of past events and their relationship to economic policies instilled by Milton Friedman, et al.

Spanning the globe from Chile and Argentina to Russia, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE compellingly demonstrates the devastating influence past strategies of economic and political intervention has had on the people of the countries. Two of the more powerful chapters of the film are that of Chile and the reign of Pinochet, and that of the Soviet Union and the unbelievable actions of Boris Yeltsin.

In the case of Pinochet’s Chile, the free market ideals implemented with the encouragement of the United States produced horrifying violations of human rights perpetrated under a regime of fear and violence, all the while supported by President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In the case of Yeltsin’s Russia, poverty rates of the common people skyrocketed under his rule to upwards of 80% as Moscow experienced the largest growth of individual billionaires of any city in the world.

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE succeeds in making an emotionally charged and hard-hitting case throughout the first two-thirds of its roughly 80-minute running time. However, the final third of the film begins to fall apart as it spirals ineffectively into a criticism of George W. Bush and his cabinet and policies.

It is not that the filmmakers were criticizing Bush that causes the sudden drop in effectiveness, but that the final third feels disconnected from the rest of the film, uneven in its approach and to a great extent rushed. It feels like a haphazardly piece-meal collage of last minute thoughts rubber cemented onto the screen.

Whitecross and Winterbottom had a fairly good thing going in the first two-thirds of THE SHOCK DOCTRINE. While heavily one-sided, the film does make significant and points with an array of shocking archival footage and facts of historical importance. Aside from the less than stellar finale, the film does suffer one other criticism.

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE utilizes a handful of key audio/visual tactics to convey its message. These tactics work well at first, but as the film progresses these tactics are repeated to the point of becoming redundant. Visually, the animated sequences are used minimally and effectively, but the old black and white archival footage of psychiatric patients being subjected to experimental shock treatment (as displayed above) are leaned upon a tad too much, connecting Naomi Klein’s use of the term “shock treatment: to points being made in the film.

Another less detrimental, but equally noticeable use of repetition is the music in THE SHOCK DOCTRINE. A singular piece of orchestral music (which I know I recognize but can’t seem to place) is used repeatedly throughout the film, inevitably resulting in the loss of its sensory emotional appeal. In essence, the audience is desensitized to its effect during the film, therefore risking that same desensitization to the subject matter. Personally, I found the subject matter compelling enough on its own as not to need the soundtrack.

Overall, THE SHOCK DOCTRINE is a valuable piece of documentary cinema, but I would like to see the filmmakers extend the roughly 80-minute running time to perhaps 100 minutes, allowing themselves enough canvas to more appropriately flesh out the bigger picture in the final third of the film, rather than allowing the momentum to subside into what could be construed as petty political propaganda.

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE will play during the 19th Annual Stella Artois St. Louis International Film Festival on Saturday, November 20th at 3:00 pm at the Winifred Moore Auditorium on the Webster University campus.