Matt Damon and Frances McDormand both shine in this true to
life story about a large energy firm coming to a small town with promises of
big bucks for everyone who leases their land to the company for fracking. Damon
plays Steve Butler, a hard charging rising star at Global Energy. His job is to
visit towns which have the potential for natural gas deposits beneath the
surface and then buy the lease rights from the cash strapped farmers with
nothing left to sell but their futures.
There is a rumpled high school teacher Frank Yates; played
with great effect by Hal Holbrook; in the town who shows up at the very first
meeting between the residents and Steve Butler. He talks about the science
behind fracking and why it is not in the best long term interests of the town.
Steve challenges his assertions, only to become aware the teacher is really a
retired MIT Engineer who teaches high school because he is bored.
As Steve and his partner, Sue Thomason, become more involved
in the town they are drawn to different people. She is drawn to the local gun
shop owner, while Steve is falling for a local school teacher named Alice;
played by Rosemarie DeWitt; he has met.
These relationships have a way of undercutting Global’s sales pitch, and also
manage to get under Steve’s skin as he comes to realize the full impact of what
he is doing to another small town like the one in which he was raised.
When an unexpected environmental activist shows up to tell
the town about all the dangers inherent in fracking, Steve is unnerved to the
point of blowing the assignment. His partner has no such scruples, and is
willing to continue in their efforts to deceive the town.
What happens next is unexpected and revealing. It puts a
fine edge on the growing debate about fracking and what it means to the people
who live in the areas affected. This is an important film to see as it tackles
the issue in a way that is more revealing than just watching the news.
Very well written and directed, this film may not change
your mind, but it will make you think about your opinion on fracking.
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