By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Alex Gibney | Eugene Jarecki | Heidi Ewing | Morgan Spurlock | Rachel Grady | Seth Gordon
Country: united_states
Year: 2010
Running time: 85
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152822/
TC says: “FREAKONOMICS is based on the best-selling book of the same name by economist Steven Levitt and writer Stephen Dubner. It basically looks at how random chance, or causality, affects various parts of the everyday economy.
“Having been fan of the book, I was quite anxious to see the film. With a diverse group of directors each handling one of the segments and director Seth Gordon doing the humorous wrap arounds with Levitt and Dubner, I wondered what I would be in for. And all in all, it’s not a bad little movie.
“Each full-length segment looks at a different segment of how the economy is affected by a series of both random chance and planned circumstance. ‘A Roshanda By Any Other Name’ (directed by Morgan Spurlock) takes a look at how your name affects your chances in life, and is easily the funniest segment in the entire film. ‘Pure Corruption’ (directed by Alex Gibney) takes a look into the underside of Japanese Sumo Wrestling, and the rampant cheating going on in the sport while officials look the other way. ‘It’s Not Always A Wonderful Life’ (directed by Eugene Jarecki) looks at Dubner’s theory about the true reason for a drop in crime in the 1990s. And ‘Can A Ninth Grader Be Bribed To Succeed?’ (directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady) looks at a program run out of an Illinois university to pay freshmen in Chicago Heights for good grades.
“While I admit that the movie isn’t perfect, each directors’ input is well presented. But truthfully, the best part of the film are the wraparounds with Levitt and Dubner themselves – they obviously believe in Levitt’s theories and have a great deal of fun talking about them. My score: 4 cats”