With America so polarized and divided over politics, it almost seems impossible to entertain and educate an audience with a political documentary that isn’t divisive — that is unless you’re are Alex Gibney. No stranger to muckraking documentaries, as he just premiered two at the Tribeca Film Festival, Oscar-winner Gibney is literally the voice of “Casino Jack and the United States of Money.” The film delves into the story of possibly the most infamous lobbyist to date, Jack Abramoff and his stranglehold on D.C. and technically, our political system. The film opens up with news coverage of the inevitable arrest and fall of Abramoff, but more interestingly quickly moves back to the beginning to figure out how and where it all began. From the beginning, we see Jack as an eager, religious and righteous fella who seems to follow the trail of power, along with the power of right. We watch as Abramoff, along with pals Karl Rove, Ralph Reed and Dana Rohrabacher, who consider themselves radical Republicans, take on both the liberal voice of academia in the early 1980s and the stuffy old guard of the Republican party itself. This writer is a fairly knowledgeable person when it comes to politics, but was still floored by the near anarchist lengths the Young Republicans went to some three decades ago and how those acts helped obtain positions of notoriety and power for Rove, Reed, Rohrabacher and Abramoff. We watch as the young turks of the party begin to wise up, mature and find themselves in powerful positions. With intertwined vignettes of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” footage of 80’s protests and a bizarre peace mission to Angola, you can’t tell if these young men are doing these things for the notoriety or because they earnestly believe in them. As we watch the evolution of Jack from pissed off, young “revolutionary” to calculated lobbyist, it’s not difficult to understand how he moved throughout Washington, D.C. so easily.
While we watch Jack move seamlessly from Republican activist to Hollywood film producer to a D.C. lobbyist, we see a man who earnestly grabs for power along with the elite. He understands that power and those with it can get you whatever you want. And to get that power you need money — lots of it. A major turning point for Jack is his relationship to former Representative Tom DeLay and what this association meant to the men as individuals and the Republican party itself. We sit and attempt to hold back the anger and disbelief as Abramoff uses his connections with DeLay to buy off an entire island of industry, and that would be Mariana Islands, as well as various Native American tribes. Abramoff wasn’t only the most charming man in a room, he seemed to be the most cunning as well, using his gift for conversation to let your guard down and come aboard whatever idea he was coasting on at the moment. The film, at one point, compares him to a mafia boss, with men and women lined up to kiss his proverbial hand and gain access to the powers that be. As Jack’s actions became wilder, and his audacity grew, it seemed only a matter of time that the empire would fall. And it does, with various politicians along with Abramoff, coming down with it.
Overall, the film is a wonderful look into what happens when checks and balances no longer exist within our government and how politics and business really shouldn’t mix. And more than just a condemnation of the man who is Jack Abramoff, it’s a deep look as to how someone like the lobbyist to end all lobbyists exists and succeeds in the first place. Gibney has been doing press in support of his various projects and we had the opportunity to discuss the film with him. When questioned “Why Jack?” Gibney said it was because “He (Abramoff) was such an outrageous character. It was such a good story and by following his story it seemed that you got to the heart of the central problem with our American democracy right now – which is money,” which is why Gibney named the film “Casino Jack and the United States of Money”. He went on to say that “Jack’s story is a fun one, a wild one. He’s one of those great American characters who invents himself, but is an representative of the ideology of the Republican party in charge right now that wants the market to be the final arbiter of moral values,” which seems to working so well so far. And while various politicians were brought down, at least for a little, by the Abramoff scandal, it’s interesting that Jack remains the most compelling part of the puzzle. His dedication to achieving his ambition and his complete disregard for breaking the law will always be a fascinating story to us, and the sad end to an American dream gone bad. The film did seem disjointed at times, which could be due to the lack of interviews Gibney had. Most of the parties involved, including Abramoff, were at first open to interviews, but as filming progressed and indictments continued to befall anyone who worked with Abramoff, more and more people decided against sitting down with Alex. While an interview with Jack would have be interesting, to see the callousness from Tom DeLay during his segments, knowing the fate that others had been dealt, was mind blowing. And top that off with scenes from his stint on “Dancing With The Stars,” you have the perfect villain. But are we mad that these folks decided to take advantage of us and our government, or are we pissed that we just let it happen? Who knows, but it makes for one hell of a story.
Gibney’s film delves into the issues without exclaiming which side Gibney nor the rest of the crew is in on, or thought we should be. This is one of those films where it’s fairly easy to pick out the bad guy, but you just can’t figure out why you don’t hate him. And in much D.C.-meets-LA fashion, Abramoff will get his own feature film all about him, “Casino Jack,” starring Kevin Spacey as Jack. We couldn’t help but ask if Gibney had seen the film and what his thoughts were on it. Alex said that he has seen the film saying, “Kevin Spacey’s performance is great, but he’s no Jack Abramoff.” We can ask Abramoff himself when he gets out of prison, after a 17-month stay, this June. [B]
