Chicago 10

Chicago 10-2008

In the new film, Chicago 10, documentarian Brett Morgen of The Kid Stays In the Picture, On the Ropes) makes a unique documentary combining animation, archive footage and a narrative story, that makes for a refreshing look at the late 60's.

Chicago 10 takes an exceptional look at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, the protests that went on outside the convention, and the subsequent trial that occurred the following year. The film focuses on the leaders of the protests, known as the Yippies. Led by anti-war visionaries such as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, what was to be a peaceful protest became a epic clash between the protesters and the police of Chicago. The trial that followed became an even bigger spectacle as the courtroom became a circus as the Yippies faced off against the judge and the court system in general.

The films original use of using the court transcripts as a script and then animating eh action is effective and brings the event to life. The historical trial is brought to life by the voice talents of such actors as Hank Azaria (Along Came Polly, TV's The Simpsons), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac, Collateral), Jeffrey Wright (Syriana, Lady In the Water) and Liev Schreiber (2004's The Manchurian Candidate, The Scream trilogy). But the late Roy Schneider (Jaws, The French Connection) is outstanding as Judge Julian Hoffman, who turned the case, known as the Chicago Conspiracy Trial, into a free-for-all debacle. However, while the voice acting is impeccable and adds significantly to the various types of animation, it does make the viewer try to figure out which famous actor is playing who, taking them out of the story. The animation sequences work most effectively when the actual voices of the trial and the story are used from various recordings. The animations also surprisingly do not take anything away from the seriousness and importance of the trials, but rather shows a dramatic recreation of the events that occurred in the hectic courtroom. These recordings with the various types of animation add a level of depth that is rarely seen in documentaries.

The soundtrack to Chicago 10 blends a combination of both the new and the old to create the soundtrack for a revolution. bands like Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys and Eminem bring a modern sound with songs that represent the feelings evoked by the film and older bands like Black Sabbath and The Clash bring along the soundtrack of the times that the protests were taking place. The music plays a huge part from the very beginning all the way to the end credits and keeps the film moving along smoothly.

The events of what happened from August 25-28 in 1968 at the Democratic National Convention and the court case that followed the year after feature some pretty heavy topics. Yet Morgen handles the topic with grace and with a well-conceived plan that blends ideas, styles and mindsets and pulls together a beautiful, entertaining and moving documentary that is one of the year's best.