Movie review: Outrage

by Alex Bentley

Documentarian Kirby Dick has been making provocative films for a long time (since 1981 at least), but one can be forgiven if his name doesn't automatically come to mind when thinking about luminaries in the field. That could be partly because Michael Moore has been the provocateur du jour since Bowling for Columbine, or the fact that Dick's films, while acclaimed, just don't get seen.

2004's Oscar-nominated Twist of Faith only played on two screens and made less than $3,000. 2006's This Film is Not Yet Rated, which explored the questionable MPAA rating system, did better, grossing over $300,000. However, it still only played on 18 screens at its peak, a fact ironically due to the MPAA giving it an NC-17 rating, limiting the number of theaters that would run the film.

Dick's latest, Outrage, is likely to fall somewhere in the middle of those two for a variety of reasons, the biggest of which is its subject matter. This time around, Dick has chosen to shine a light on gay politicians, with much of the focus on those who are suspected to be gay but have yet to come out of the closet. Some viewing the film may be surprised by the names that come up, but Dick himself is not actually outing anyone, as everyone that is named has long been the subject of at least rumors about their sexuality.

Outrage is your classic “talking heads” documentary that puts forth a stream of commentators to talk about the issue in lieu of actual action. That means lots of time for people like blogger Michael Rogers, who has made it his personal mission to out politicians via his site, Blogactive.com. Several politicians, like former New Jersey Governer James McGreevey and former U.S. House Representative Jim Kolbe, talk about their experiences of being outed, giving the not-so-subtle impression that life is much easier after admitting they were gay.

Dick takes pains to detail how every suspected gay member of Congress they highlight has an abysmal voting record when it comes to gay rights (not surprising, since all of them are self-described conservative Republicans). This hypocrisy is supposed to be polarizing, but overall, the film comes off as preaching to the choir. There is no definitive “A-ha!” moment where the truth is revealed, just a lot of conjecture.

The film hangs a good portion of its drama on the life of Florida Governor Charlie Crist, but does little other than to offer circumstantial evidence to show he's gay. Even in the case of former U.S. Senator Larry Craig, who was arrested following a supposed gay liaison in an airport bathroom, nothing was ever proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, so all you're left with is his word against the film's.

Outrage will probably elicit little more than a shrug from both the political community and theater audiences. It just doesn't have that zing to serve as a rallying cry for liberals or enough controversial material to be a lightning rod for conservatives. And if there's no controversy, then the critical and box office fortunes of the film will be dismal, as well.

Editor's note: For a second opinion, check out Dallas Voice critic Arnold Wayne Jones' interview with director Kirby Dick.