Last night I went downtown to see Harry Shearer’s The Big Uneasy. This is a film he has been promoting on his radio show for as long as I have been listening. The film is about New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, and the investigation after the fact. Shearer focused on the Army Corp of Engineers, their bungling of the construction and the wrath they unleashed after a team of scientists wrest the failure on the appropriate shoulders.
As a film I thought it was ok. It is very hard to say that it was good. There is very little background information, we jump right into some fairly technical information about New Orleans, and there are unneeded comedic scenes that could work on radio but now in film. Shearer made me appreciate Michael Moore as sometimes I take for granted how great a film maker he really is. Making a movie is hard, and making a documentary film seems to be even harder. For a first project I think Shearer can walk away with his head held high, but the film needs a little more polish if he wants it to go mainstream.
As a topic, I thought it was great. The film was focused and did not sway (much) from the point of looking at how a flood could happen in this city. Investigating the ecologic, scientific, and policy changes around the flood clearly point to not one answer, but a perfect storm that allows for the decimation of a city. I walked away wanting to know more about the Army Corp of Engineers and other stories of their negligence.
I suggest people go see this movie. Why? Well we need to stop relying on just a few filmmakers and start supporting other people who have an idea as well. Moore will never have the time to do a film like this one, and that is ok. I am happy that Harry Shearer did the movie and I am glad I spent $6 to go and see it.
I believe what has happened to the everglades is another story of the Army Corps of Engineers’ belief that we can manipulate nature all we want (with some help from agbiz).
Thanks for the review. Shearer’s radio show often leaves me unsatisfied as well.