Review of Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) by Aaron A — 13 Feb 2011

"Is this the United States Congress, or the board of directors of Goldman Sachs?".

Filmmaker Michael Moore takes on capitalism's roots, the floundering U.S. economy, and 2008's global financial meltdown and subsequent bank bailout in this documentary.

The film takes a while to really get it's wheels spinning, even though it's obvious Moore tries really hard to get off to a good start. Eventually, through very manipulative filmmaking, Moore succeeds in engaging the audience in the horrors of capitalism. He mainly achieves this through the stories of the individuals that capitalism has failed while simultaneously ignoring the honest people who benefit from it.

The major problem with the film is that Moore fails to examine the benefits/detriments in detail of any other economic system, thus failing to enlighten anyone into actually wanting another system. In the end, the audience will walk away from the picture thinking, "yea, capitalism can be awful at times, but i'm still too unfamiliar with any other economic system to want a change".

Though it takes awhile to sink it's teeth into you, and fails to inform it's audience on their choices, Capitalism: A Love Story has it's moments of sheer power.