The narrative of Fast Food Nation is overwhelming.
Herald rating: * * *
As someone who spent some of his teenage summers as a freezing worker, there wasn't much in the grisly slaughterhouse detail in Fast Food Nation to make me wince. What did though, is how the film - by versatile director Linklater scripting with
Eric Schlosser, the writer of the 2001 non-fiction bestseller which became a US anti-corporate touchstone - minces its storytelling through its ambitious multi-narrative structure and really leaves you none the wiser.
Yes, not only is junkfood bad for you, so is sexual harassment in the workplace, exploitation of illegal Mexican workers, soul-killing Mcjobs and what American cows have to put up with.
But Linklater's crisscrossing stories of vast cast, led by Kinnear's Don as a burger franchise exec heading to Colorado cattle country investigating why there are such high traces of fecal matter in the meat patties, are only fitfully engaging.
And by the time Don strangely disappears for the rest of the film two-thirds of the way through, it's clear that FFN might be yet another hot issue drama. But it's sure hasn't been cooked all the way through.
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kris Kristofferson, Bruce Willis
Director: Richard Linklater
Rating: R16 (sex scenes, offensive language, content may disturb)
Running time: 114mins
Screening: Rialto, Village, Berkeley, Hoyts
Verdict: Overfed but undercooked drama adaptation of the anti-junk food campaign bible
