Grassroots (15) 98 mins ***
It sank without trace in
the States, yet this true-life ballot-box saga proves very likable, if a little
Sorkin-lite. At its heart are two young men trying to reclaim Seattle politics
from the pros: Grant Cogswell (Joel David Moore), a self-righteous, somewhat
bratty leftie gradually transformed into a sincere-sounding alternative, and Phil Campbell (a
thoughtful Jason Biggs), the ex-journo who raised a small volunteer army to
help staff the campaign. Adapted from Campbell’s memoir Zioncheck for
President, it’s alert to both the romance of the stump (like-minded, passionate
souls on late-night flyposting missions) and the political nitty-gritty: crucially,
Cogswell’s genial opponent (Cedric the Entertainer, unusually subtle and
effective) was the city’s sole black representative. Stephen Gyllenhaal crafts
a couple of rousing election-night sequences, but can’t quite make the ending
resonate – unless we see Cogswell’s story as the first, faint stirrings of the
Occupy movement.
Grassroots opens in selected cinemas from today.
No comments:
Post a Comment