Review of Fast Food Nation (2006) by Amber S — 29 Aug 2008

Linklater's homage to John Sayles. It's a difficult topic for a film, and there are so many antagonistic positions swirling in the real life storm of meat production, fast food, and immigration, that any film would necessarily fail.

This one does, too. But it's worth watching for the ways in which it succeeds. Above all what it does well is to practically avoid -- with two minor exceptions-- creating a villain. It looks lovingly at all of the people who are caught in this sector of the American economy, even though some of their lives become distorted and deformed by it in various ways.