CHICAGO 10

Animated "re-enactments" of the trial have that eerie, almost-lifelike style that looks like real people were covered up with paint-by-numbers colors.

I have to admit, I went into Chicago 10 with little-no-historical knowledge of the events at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, where tens of thousands of protestors where roughed up by an astonishing police force, meant to protect the convention-goers. (Hmmm... sounds a bit like the WTO in Seattle!) This film, though a documentary, uses re-enactments of the trial of the Chicago Eight—eight high-profile protest leaders, including Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale (of the Black Panthers), Tom Hayden, and Jerry Rubin—that went on trial for various conspiracy charges. (One defendent, Seale, was later dropped from the trial and they became more commonly known as the Chicago Seven... However, director Brett Morgen felt that the two lawyers defending them were a huge part of the trial, thus the Chicago 10.)

The film uses a lot of original footage from the time, and includes interviews with the colorful Hoffman, snippets from the convention's political speeches, and images from Lincoln Park in Chicago where the "protestors" (who didn't have permits to officially march), who called themselves the "Yippee!" movement, gathered for a so-called festival of peace, love and understanding. But Chicago Mayor Richard R. Daley knew they were up to something, and had 23,000 National Guardsmen ready to keep them away from the convention.

Chicago 10 is an interesting yet ultimately frustrating documentary. For stylistic reasons that prove to be ultimately distracting, protest and crowd scenes have the MTV-esque soundtrack of modern protest music by the likes of The Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine. Did the filmmmaker think modern audiences were too jaded to listen to period music? Also, in perhaps the riskiest artist move, the trial of the Chicago Eight is re-enacted with voice actors and animation. In the style of Waking Life or A Scanner Darkly, the animation has that eerie, almost-lifelike style that looks like real people were covered up with paint-by-numbers colors. Except in this case, since the "characters" in question weren't re-enacting their trial (professional voice actors like Hank Azaria, Liev Schrieber, Jeffrey Wright, and Dylan Baker do the voices), the movements are even more "off" and more cartoony. With judge Julius Hoffman played as a crotchety caricature by Roy Scheider, these scenes play almost like an arty-animated episode of The Simpsons.

The best part of Chicago 10 is when the subject matter finally overwhelms the film's style and becomes a gripping tale of the supression of freedom of speech. As the protestors march into downtown, only to be surrounded, outnumbered, and beaten by a huge police force, you can't help but shudder. Also, the true story of Bobby Seale being literally bound, gagged, and chained to a chair (!) during the trial because he demanded his right to representation is shocking now as I assume (and hope) it was then. It's too bad that the power of these scenes come too little too late. Such an interesting and volatile event in history deserves a better movie.