Review #911: 'Roger & Me' (1989)

Over a decade before he was annoying the likes of Charlton Heston and George W. Bush, documentary film-maker Michael Moore was out of work and witnessing first-hand the devastating effects the closure of several General Motors plants had on his home town of Flint, Michigan. Roger & Me, his first feature film, documents Moore's attempts to get an interview with Roger Smith, the CEO of General Motors whose decision it was to move several plants - after recording record profits - to countries such as Mexico, where labour is cheaper, laying off thousand of Michigan workers in the process.

Moore's frequently rebuffed attempts to talk to the elusive figure provides much of the film's humour, with Moore's sardonic wit helping make light of what is a serious issue. With no film-making credentials so early in his career and with a membership card to Chunky Cheese his equivalent of a business card, he must rely of guerilla tactics to try and snatch a word with the man. He is kicked out of private clubs and a building where the fourteenth floor is strictly out-of-bounds, and the film is so low-budget that it's a wonder the boom mic doesn't creep into every other shot. But Moore has managed to craft a thought-provoking film despite the budget restrictions, holding a mirror up to Reagan-era America when corporations could simply pack up and move, leaving an entire town crumbling in its trail.

When Moore isn't on the hunt for Mr. Smith, he's interviewing residents hit hard by sudden unemployment, following Sheriff's Deputy Fred Ross as he evicts one family after another, and showing the various, often laughable, attempts by Flint to reinvigorate their economy through tourism. Moore has been criticised for playing with timelines and editing in his favour, manipulating the truth to back up his own liberal agenda. While I can certainly agree that this can be a dangerous approach (especially with his later film, Bowling for Columbine (2002)), the documentary medium is rarely as neutral as it lets on and a director always has a right to artistic license . Unlike his later films, Moore thankfully stays out of the picture for the bulk of the film and this allows Roger & Me to tell a more devastating story. Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) may have broken box-office records, but Roger & Me is Moore's best, and most honest, work.


Directed by: Michael Moore
Starring: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie