bob the moo Writer/director Steve Marshall may have thought himself in trouble when the big name star of his low budget film got arrested doing a shoot during the real protests in New York. Certainly he had to rework his film to accommodate the loss of Dawson but I think he quickly got over it and was thankful for it happening – particularly for all the press the film got at the time. I know I watched this film because it stuck in my head for that reason and I imagine that many others heard about it and saw it as a result of her arrest. And, from Marshall's point of view it is a blessing because there is very little else about the film that makes it memorable or something to be talked about.The film appears to have been conceived in good faith as an attempt to capture the spirit of the activists and deliver their message in a film. However in reality the film has a very thin plot that it spends a lot of time on and leaves most of the commentary down to asides that are sound-bites no different from those you have heard before. If you agree with what they are saying then I guess maybe you can ignore the quality of the film and embrace this content but that will only appeal to a limited audience and even then. Many have criticised the quality of the filming but I can forgive this to a point given the low budget and style of making. Some of the set shots are really clunky and obvious though and little about Marshall as director is of interest. The real problem is in the material though which doesn't have the complexity and realism to draw the viewer into the characters or the discussion. This is a real shame considering how many viewers (including myself) will agree with the broad sentiments of the activists (if not their methods) but yet it just clunks around on the screen in an annoying way.The blame must more or less be totally put at the feet of Marshall because he is responsible for the majority of the film. His low budget matches his low ambitions in regards his cinematography and plotting and the end result is a rather lacklustre film that looks cheap and feels thrown together. The cast are mixed but generally don't have the material to help. Even if Dawson got the cover and the headlines, Crooker takes the main character – you will probably not have heard of him as an actor because he is frankly not very good. He doesn't feel real and has no screen presence – not helped by the nature of filming either. Dawson tries to have chemistry with him but it doesn't really work. She is good once (on the fire escape) but she has no character, no material and has been put in a hairstyle meant to make us think "street" but only made me think "wow, someone has worked out a way to make the stunning Rosario Dawson look ugly". Outside of these two the supporting cast are mixed – the activists generally convince but other set performances are generally weak. It was a nice idea to have the political rapper Immortal Technique involved but again this doesn't work within the context of the film.This Revolution is a nice idea and got fame from Dawson's arrest but yet it doesn't make the most of this potential. The ugly visuals I can sort of understand but the plot is messy, the characters poorly drawn and the message is clunked down in an obvious manner that is a lot less effective than it would have been if it had been delivered with intelligence, insight and debate. Of course it has been made for a target audience who loved it before they saw it, but for the casual viewer this is a pretty average film.

nyrone I just finished watching 'This Revolution' and I must say that it was far, far better than some of the average review scores from mainstream media organizations that it has been receiving...but that's exactly the point! The stupid, corrupt, idiotic mass-media corporate scumbags that pollute the world with their false bile obviously could never begin to fathom the beauty and courage of this small independent film about a group of anti-war, anti-neo-con protesters who are working to just find a bit of peace in this increasingly selfish, money-obsessed world.This is a brilliant film for anyone who cringes when they switch on mainstream rubbish like CNN, NBC and FOX NEWS and recognise the gargantuan lies staring them straight in the face. This is for the people that absorb the words of people like Noam Chomsky, Bill Hicks, John Pilger, Michael Moore, Ralph Nader, Immortal Technique, Hugo Chavez, Tariq Ali, Frank Zappa and George Orwell and despair at the so-called 'democracy' or 'political system' that we as a people have found ourselves in. The film also features a cameo by 'Immortal Technique' who is probably the most brilliant, witty, tightest, revolutionary rapper working in the US at the moment...(we all await the middle passage!)This film represents truth and light in a time of pitch-black political darkness. The protesters portrayed are just like the real people who marched all over the world, sick of the lies, sick of the imperialism, sick of the dead children as collateral damage, sick of arrogant, blood-thirsty politicians dreaming of oil, sick of the way the media always shows one side of the ever-complicated story. It's a film about some of these things...and much more..I wish I see more heavily-political films like this being made...that are not afraid to be polemic and personal with regards to the immoral and racist actions of the goverments of Bush, Blair and Howard... We NEED more voices like this in the world. Congratulations to all the cast & crew It's a work of passion, but its paid off... You guys have made a truly honest film in a world and industry filled with lies...10/10 GET HOLD OF THIS MOVIE!!!

murphy-guy If you're looking for a glossy, slick, highly produced movie then pass this one by. This movie doesn't fit into that bracket, and there's really no harm to it in not doing so.The movie would of perhaps carried more weight if it presented or at least made a token attempt to present a balance of view. It doesn't so if you don't have at least a small degree of sympathy for a liberal or left-wing view... again pass it by.Otherwise the film is quite enjoyable. It managed to engage me with the characters who are embroiled in the frustration of trying to have some sort of impact on a political system that's been pulled away from them by corporate interests. I watched it on a Sunday afternoon, and it fitted the mood well.If you're not American the film might also be worth having a gander at if only to broaden the view of the American people from outside which can tend to narrow in on the gingoistic and right-wing. I was heartened to see the film made for this reason alone.

sdnoble There's a scene in Butterfly, Jose Luis Cuerda's film about the lead-up to the Spanish Civil War, where the teacher removes a book from his bookshelf and briefly considers giving it to the protagonist, a seven year-old-boy. The book is by Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. It is quickly returned to its place on the shelf.Is the filmmaker suggesting we aren't ready for such ideas? The scene in Butterfly provides a metaphor for the way anarchism and politics in general have been treated by filmmakers. With few exceptions, either such topics aren't broached at all, or they are broached in such a way as to leave the viewer completely mystified. "Social Realism", according to the online artcyclopoedia, "is a rather pejorative label in the United States, where overtly political art in general, and socialist politics in particular, are extremely out of favor".Which is perhaps why I enjoyed "This Revolution" so much. There's nothing shameful about expressing overt political sentiments in art, and there's nothing shameful about going overboard either. Witness John Heartfield, or Josep Renau, or Jean Vigo, or Pier Paolo Pasolini. Better sorry than safe, and better to risk being labeled pedantic than pussyfoot around the issues in the hopes of appeasing the critics.The film is honest. Marshall may not be in the same league as Pasolini, but as another reviewer pointed out, he's not ending his career but beginning it. There's nothing in This Revolution that can't be forgiven in light of the budget constraints and timetable. If nothing else, it's a lot of fun. Watch for Immortal Technique's piece and the 9/11 rant; watch for the RNC footage, which is electrifying (you won't always be sure what is staged and what isn't); and watch for the reference to Malatesta, who I'm pretty sure has never been mentioned in the medium before.Get off your high horse and I think you'll find Marshall's film refreshing and timely. We need more of this stuff.