Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
Directed by Errol Morris
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is a quirky documentary about four men who have devoted their lives to widely different obsessions, but whom the film maker has cleverly tied together by showing their similarities of belief and lifestyle. Errol Morris has chosen to look at a lion tamer, a topiary gardener, a hairless mole-rat expert and an M.I.T. scientist whose special area is robotics. They are initially connected by one theme — their lives are devoted to projects around which they have created their own eccentric worlds. By the end of the documentary, you find that there are many connections between the men. The lion tamer and the topiary gardener are representatives of dying arts and their stories are those of days gone by. The mole-rat expert and M.I.T. professor see their work helping mankind in the future. All of the men are interesting and the interviews are often funny, and sometimes poignant.
The whole style of the film leads it to be a unique experience. At all times you are exposed to three different levels of communication, the visual, and the spoken words of the interview and the music running beneath both. The main part of the film has a carnival feel, with either carnival music being played or circus performers being shown. Each character’s work is shown and sometimes the visual images associated with one of the men is shown over the top of another’s voice, accentuating the connections between these seemingly different people. Director of photography Robert Richardson, known for his collaboration with Oliver Stone, has given the film a distinct and eclectic visual style with strange camera angles, different film stocks and different visual effects used throughout. The Real Buzz: Well worth watching.
Esther Speight
