David versus big oil Goliath in Trump’s America
The Devil Has a Name Cert TBC; on demand
Polluting oil companies, beleaguered Mexican immigrants and the corporatocracy trying to step on the common man. The Devil Has A Name blatantly conducts its dark comedydrama in the era of the Trump administration and, fittingly, weds the slightly unhinged tone of things in that sorry nation with the sobering implications of such a world.
Widowed farmer Fred (David Strathairn) has begun noticing that trees on his California almond farm are dying mysteriously. This has also been noticed by oil field manager Gigi (Kate Bosworth), who knows that the culprit is the toxic water stored in ponds by the company adjacent to Fred’s farm. An ex-farmhand turned company stooge (Haley Joel Osment) is sent to offer a pittance for the land in the hope of cutting off any suit. Fred nearly takes the bait, only for Mexican pal Santi (Edward James Olmos, who also directs) to point out the connection between the dead trees and the pools.
The pair enlist the services of
Martin Sheen’s noble lawyer Ralph to take the fight to the polluters. Ralph accepts on the condition that a big payday is not the motivation, something cash-strapped Fred grapples with. Naturally, things get nasty, particularly with the arrival of unscrupulous snakeoil fixer Ezekiel (Pablo Schreiber), who begins intimidating Fred and Santi.
Two films rub together with mixed results. Fred’s “David versus Goliath” courtroom battle (based on real events) adheres to a template and enjoyably so, especially given that wily Sheen is conducting things.
But on the other side, there is more chaos going on and it involves a slightly confusing tangle of intent between Gigi, Ezekiel and the tycoon at the top of the petroleum tree (Alfred Molina). At one stage, we have
whiskey-soaked Gigi crawling in her nightgown through torn carpet and broken glass. The assumption is that Olmos wants to evoke the warped decay of souls working for fossil fuel interests. While he may have a point, it is over-icing the cake somewhat, as are the CGI animations of chemicals leaching into soil.
Strathairn, an actor always worth tuning in for, provides ballast, even when wrestling Olmos or wielding a golf club half-naked. Bosworth and Sheen also stand out.
★★★ HILARYA WHITE