FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL (Sony Pictures Classics - 1997) Produced by Errol Morris Directed by Errol Morris Running time: 80 minutes
*** (out of four stars)
Alternate Rating: B
Note: Some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers. Be forewarned.
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Very few filmmakers could even conceive of crafting a film in the manner which Errol Morris did for his latest film, FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL, and even fewer filmmakers could actually pull it off. It is no surprise that Mr. Morris was successful, of course -- he's clearly one of cinema's greatest documentarians (consider, if you will, that among his illustrious filmography one will find entries for GATES OF HEAVEN [his first feature, to boot], A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, *and* the landmark 1988 film THE THIN BLUE), and once again he has brought forth yet another interesting and completely inventive film with his newest documentary.
Ostensibly a film which examines the varied occupations of four seemingly dissimilar men -- Rodney Brooks, a M.I.T. robotics expert; Dave Hoover, an aging circus lion tamer who idolizes the late circus trainer Clyde Beatty; Ray Mendez, a mole rat researcher; and George Mendonca, an elderly topiary gardener -- FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL is far more ambitious in scope than to simply document these vocations, and is subtle in revealing its intended implications. Only gradually do the parallels between the endeavours of the subjects become evident, and progressively the film's themes become apparent.
Initially, one can see no obvious connection between the film's four subjects -- one can understandably fail to see much in common between the work of a lion tamer and that of a gardener, or of a robotics developer for that matter -- but Mr. Morris cleverly utilises interviews with the subjects and associative footage of their work in a unique manner. FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL stealthily weaves interview footage of the four subjects, at times intercutting the commentary of one with the activities of another, evoking new meaning to their diatribes and new inadvertent insights. However, these implications are never explicit in their presentation during the film, leaving it very much up as an exercise to the viewer to detect and decipher the additional layers of complexity given to each of these scenes. It's quite a novel and stunning technique which keeps the audience perpetually involved, and certainly a method which lifts the film above the drabness which afflicts a typical talking-head documentary.
Mr. Morris' film is hardly overly cerebral, though -- while educational and provocative, FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL is also highly entertaining and often funny. Mr. Mendez's wild enthusiasm and clear affection for his blind, hairless mole rats, in conjunction with his attire (especially the bow-tie) make for humourous viewing, while it is mildly surreal to observe Mr. Brooks' unblinking cheeriness during his prognostication of the forthcoming obsolescence of "carbon-based life", to be eventually replaced by his beloved silicon-based "lifeforms". However, it's Mr. Morris' great affection for his subjects, clearly evident throughout the film, which allow us to titter at the depths of the subjects' fascinations without a hint of ridicule entering the mix. The comic nature of FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL is accentuated by Caleb Sampson's quirky score, as well as mixing typical headshot interview footage with miscellaneous clips from old movie serials (including one featuring Clyde Beatty), which, as much in this film, at first appears to have little relevance but ultimately resonates strongly with the themes explored.
It is perhaps a good thing that FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL does not heavily rely on the interview sessions with Mr. Morris' four spotlighted men as the sole basis for its highly unconventional narrative, for it seems to run out of material about fifteen minutes prematurely; that the film can continue to confound and fascinate despite the further lack of insight into the four subjects during the film's final fifth lessens the severity of this shortcoming. Yet another triumph for Mr. Morris, FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL is both a profile of four interesting professions, and a contemplation of the quickly changing scope of humanity and man's unsated, inordinate demand for control.
- Alex Fung
email: aw220@freenet.carleton.ca
web : http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/
-- Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca) | http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~aw220/ "I'll shoot for the Queen, and you can shoot for, well, whomever." - Richard Harris, UNFORGIVEN
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