Radical groups aren’t the easiest to portray on film. If the filmmaker is too critical, the movie feels like a feature length “tsk tsk”. Saying “they had the right idea, but I don’t approve of their methods” typically doesn’t serve well as a call to action; if anything it only supports the status quo by quelling enthusiasm for a cause. Of course, a highly sympathetic portrayal bereft of critique will likely alienate moderate audiences, who will be so repulsed by the illegal actions and/or harsh views of the subjects that they won’t even stop to consider whether a valid point is being made. Plus, some members of the audience could be inspired to emulate the subjects and go burn down a garage. Unless your goal is agitprop, this is not a good result.

So I was impressed by how well Marshall Curry was able to toe the line between condemnation and sympathy. Really, the Earth Liberation Front members themselves seem to say it best; after all, they’ve had first hand experience. Perhaps the most memorable moment was when Curry starts interviewing ex-ELF Suzanne Savoie: she says something to the effect of “Oh, you wanted to talk about that” with the same tone one would use when asked about a ridiculously embarrassing thing you did in high school. There’s shame, but not to a psychologically debilitating degree.

The ELF members interviewed take full responsibility for their actions. Sometimes they only seem to half-regret their involvement. The destruction of a horse slaughterhouse is talked of as a righteous action (Curry’s portrayal of said incident suggests agreement). But when they talk of a case where an innocent farm had property burned and defaced due to poor intel, members recognize that they may have gotten in over their heads. Looking back, Savoie says she can find no way to justify that episode. By taking testimony from the perpetrators themselves, Curry is able to both capture the enthusiasm and reasoning behind political radicalism without condoning it. That he includes less radical environmentalist acquaintances of ELF and the arson victims in his documentary is icing on the cake.