David vs. Goliath

So many pressing social, political, economic and racial issues are brought up in Joe Berlinger's powerful documentary Crude (First Run) that the movie seems a bit abrupt and even too short because it can’t hope to address all of them as exhaustively as they deserve. Crude is an evenhanded glimpse at a lawsuit against Texaco/Chevron brought by citizens of Ecuador for a disastrously massive oil spill several years ago; as he’s done in previous films, Berlinger smartly allows all sides to have their say, and it’s only the sad—but oh-so predictable—lack of closure for all of those who were affected by the environmental disaster that is the only flaw in an otherwise estimable film. The DVD contains over an hour of bonus features, including an interview with Joe Berlinger and producer/activist Trudie Styler, along with several deleted scenes.
originally posted on timessquare.com