Love him or hate him, you’re probably very inclined to see his films. There’s a “gotta see it” vibe that radiates from all of Michael Moore’s documentaries, soon before and long after their releases. If you hate him, you’d probably blame that “ego.” A lot of folks just can’t stand the kind of guy who has no qualms attacking the big in a very bold way, ripping up common perception and plastering his own take over it. I wish it were an outlandish overconfidence that surrounds Moore with bad air. Instead, I’d say he’s got a major inferiority complex when it comes to gauging the profundity of his material. If he’d just inflate himself with a bit more pride, Moore would have a lot more fans.
Sicko is just like every other Michael Moore flick: much anticipated, mainstream, and quick to drown in the irrelevant and the melodramatic. The intended focus here is the American health care system, which is failing quite obviously enough without the help of a film expose. The hype surrounding Sicko’s release is probably due to the anticipated acknowledgement of: A) Why so many Americans are left high and dry by their HMOs and B) What there is to do about it. But Sicko hardly addresses either; there is nothing prescriptive about this film.
With Sicko, Moore takes his audience through one of America’s greatest domestic disturbances, chronicling mishandled illness and injury by the profit-driven insurance and medical companies in the United States. Juxtaposed are his expeditions in London, France, Canada, and Cuba, where Moore tries to show us that people living most anywhere in the socialized world are healthier and happier.
Sicko starts out great. Choice, prime cut quotes from George Bush push the film’s humor; other insights from people, like British politician Tony Benn, add a crisp bite of intellect and perspective. Anyone who watches this movie will undoubtedly experience the full range of human emotion: bitterness for the man forced to choose between which of his fingers to re-attach and mourning for the mother whose child died of fever while her HMO played games.
All this was spectacular, but after I felt grief and sadness, Sicko just left me irritated.
I understand that socialized medicine is quiet effective, but Moore would have you believe that everyone in Europe lives to one hundred and ten. Sicko’s footage of the socialized world shows the aged frolicking on golf courses, people being paid to visit hospitals, and doctors living in million dollar homes thanks to government kickbacks for preventative practice. Preventative medicine, such as getting patients to stop smoking, seems a lovely way to cut healthcare costs. But is stop-smoking prevention really working in places like….France?
If it is true that the “poorest in England are healthier than the richest American”, as Sicko claims, maybe the American medical crisis isn’t related to a profit driven healthcare industry. Sicko flouts both ideas, but the two concepts clash.
Moore made other bad decisions when it came to advancing a clear message through his film. He interviewed an American family about their deplorable healthcare experience at the precise moment one of its members left for duty in Iraq. Yes, the footage of children screaming as Dad leaves for war is tragic, but it’s even more tragically misplaced. Is Moore suggesting we place our healthcare in the hands of the government? The same government he accused of conspiracy in his previous film?
I barely think it is a filmmaker’s obligation to slap a band aide over the issues they cover, but they should at least feel compelled to stay on topic.
Sicko really fell ill when Moore rounded up volunteer 911 volunteers, who had not received the same medical attention as paid government rescuers, and demanded treatment in the middle of Guantanamo Bay. He couldn’t possibly have expected this to be anything other than an exercise in futility. I’d have been thrilled if Moore had skipped the bay-raiding in favor of something productive, if he had made more statements and suggestions and less scenes.
After Moore’s 911 crew receive “correct diagnosis” and ambiguous “treatment plans” in Cuba, Sicko just about wraps it all up. But not really. Inconsistent, non-concise, and misdirected, Sicko amounts only to quite the missed opportunity.
Liz Licorish
Comments directed to: LizFlix@gmail.com
