As this is a Michael Moore documentary, there are probably hundreds of ratings and reviews on IMDb from people on the right who didn't even bother to watch this film. Just mentioning the name Michael Moore turns the more even-tempered Republicans into frothing rabid dogs. But, as the case with his film "Capitalism: A Love Story," this documentary is not just critical of Trump and the Republicans. The Clintons (both Bill and Hillary) and Barack Obama do not get away unscathed--in fact, Moore implies that the establishment Democrats may be worse than Republicans because the Dems claim they care about "every day Americans" and "progressive causes" (like the environment and taxing the rich) in order to get the votes and get elected to office, but in the end are beholden to the same corporate string pullers as Republicans are. And the corporate mainstream media - CNN, ABC, MSNBC/NBC, CBS - gets blasted as much as Fox News. This documentary is not really about Donald J. Trump per se, but more about what has happened in this country through the last several decades to allow someone like Trump to rise to power. Instead of examining the corporate mainstream media demonizing movements like Occupy Wall Street and truly progressive Democrats like the Squad, Moore turns his attention to one pre-Trump Presidential era disaster - Flint, MI (and not only the water crisis, but the military drill authorized by Obama that gave no advance warning to the citizens), and a then-current-Trump Presidential era disaster - the Parkland mass shooting. There is so much ground to cover in a documentary that was released two years into the Trump regime that Moore could not cover it all (violence at his rallies and Charlottesville are only seen in snippets). In the end, the tone of Moore's film is dire, even fatalistic. What are the answers to attempt to tilt the country towards a true "Democracy." Moore doesn't fill in the blanks. One image in the film has a map of the U. S. made up of a hundred match sticks, and the match is lit, to burn up the entire country. If you're already pessimistic about the direction of the country, this film will give you little hope. If you're still asleep thinking that "hope" and "positive thoughts" will make everything OK, justice for January 6 is coming, Biden or Harris will prevail in 2024, and no one like Trump could ever be elected again - may this documentary serve as a bitter wake up call.
Review of Fahrenheit 11/9
