AFI Dallas International Film Festival - ‘Battle in Seattle’

(USA, 2007, 100 mins)

Directed By: Stuart Townsend

The riots that confronted the World Trade Organization’s 1999 meeting in Seattle forced politically minded citizens into tough intellectual deliberations. When does a protest stop being peaceful? Increasingly unfettered multinational business seems to be increasing wealth in developing nations – but at what cost to the social fabric?

Stuart Townsend’s provocative and heartfelt debut as a director follows multiple fictional story lines about people affected by the crisis, crossing the spectrum of debate and confrontation to examine what was going on inside and outside the Seattle convention space.

Terrific performances from a wonderful ensemble cast help the director immeasurably. Townsend’s real-life partner, Charlize Theron, is heartbreaking as Ella, the wife of a police officer, who is forced to contend with unexpected violence, finding herself on the wrong side of authority. Ray Liotta as Seattle mayor Jim Tobin and Woody Harrelson as Ella’s husband, Dale, one of the city’s SWAT-like policemen, are key figures; we watch as their ordered view of the world slowly unravels.

Information from the AFI's website