STEAL THIS MOVIE
directed by Robert Greenwald
(Lions Gate, 111 minutes)
Despite the best efforts of campaigns like Rock The Vote, most of today's 18+ youth demographic choose not to vote in presidential elections. Who can blame them? Since the demise of the hippies in the 1970's, anarchists have become less and less visible, and youths are, for the most part, disillusioned from the future of their country. A film like Steal This Movie, however, is inspirational enough to make youths politically aware, proving that protest can be a means to make change.
Steal This Movie retells the true story of Abbie Hoffman (Vincent D'Onofrio), the outspoken anti-war revolutionary who took to the streets and helped shape the bustling American "make love not war" counterculture of the late 1960's. Hoffman had a true passion for social justice.
We first meet Abbie in the late 1970's. He has been hiding (for reasons that are later disclosed) from the government for many years, but is allowing a journalist to interview him about his life as an activist. Through a series of flashbacks, a light is shone on one of America's most outspoken historical figures.
Steal This Movie focuses mainly on two aspects of Hoffman's life. The first is the infamous riot at the Chicago Democratic Convention and the trial that followed. Hoffman was a member of the "Chicago 8", along with men like Jerry Rubin (Kevin Corrigan) and Tom Hayden (Troy Garity, Hayden's son). Some have referred to it as the true "trial of the century."
The film is also about Hoffman's relationship with his wife, Anita (Janeane Garofalo), and the interesting predicament they find themselves in when Abbie is forced to go into hiding. Anita stays unbelievably faithful to her husband, even after he moves in with a new girlfriend (Jeanne Tripplehorn).
In many ways, Steal This Movie is hampered by a low budget. In a few opening scenes, a boom mic is clearly visible at the top of the screen, and often the flashback scenes seem a bit awkward because of the lack of period detail. But the real Anita Hoffman told director Robert Greenwald that a truthful film about her husband couldn't be made under the studio system, and after watching this compelling, inspiring biopic, it's hard not to agree.
Steal This Movie is being released in Los Angeles a day after the 2000 Democratic Convention. This is unfortunate, because, had the film been released a couple weeks earlier, I think we'd see a few more rebels eager to take to the streets and fight for a cause.
-Akiva Gottlieb
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