This movie was REALLY TERRIBLY written - terrible in terms of plot, characterization and dialogue, among other things. It's so bad that even a gripping true story of mass human conflict and political protest, decent directing, amazing archival protest footage, and the attempts of Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Charlize Theron, and Andre from Outkast couldn't save it. Woody nearly saves his character and turns him into perhaps the most interesting human character in the movie - and he's a friggin' riot cop! The rest of the poor actors just can't pull it off. The man and woman who are the supposed main characters are a joke -- badly written, plotted in a way that makes no sense, acted poorly and woodenly, clichéd, utterly un-interesting and un-sympathetic - it seems like the film makers thought the fact that they were white and the man had a strong chin and the woman had big breasts would somehow carry them through.
It's truly, truly unfortunate, since the makers of the film clearly wanted to tell a complex story about one particularly important event of unrest in the process of human social change and evolution that I lived through and still find important even though I have little interest in reliving and recreating it. They wanted to show people coming to a better understanding and empowerment in their shared humanity through the outcome of mass protests against inhumane international trade policies on the streets of Seattle. But they made some awful mistakes. As others have pointed out, they'd likely have been much better off making a straight documentary - or doing much MUCH better research about what really happened in Seattle, and from that writing a drama that actually had believable characters acting in realistic ways and saying things real people would say.
Hopefully next time they'll find a way to send a message of hope and change in a way that is aesthetically appealing enough to get out to more people.
It's truly, truly unfortunate, since the makers of the film clearly wanted to tell a complex story about one particularly important event of unrest in the process of human social change and evolution that I lived through and still find important even though I have little interest in reliving and recreating it. They wanted to show people coming to a better understanding and empowerment in their shared humanity through the outcome of mass protests against inhumane international trade policies on the streets of Seattle. But they made some awful mistakes. As others have pointed out, they'd likely have been much better off making a straight documentary - or doing much MUCH better research about what really happened in Seattle, and from that writing a drama that actually had believable characters acting in realistic ways and saying things real people would say.
Hopefully next time they'll find a way to send a message of hope and change in a way that is aesthetically appealing enough to get out to more people.