Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 4, 2015

Everyone has an opinion. Some people get paid to share their opinion. And some people get paid to be a mouthpiece for another's opinion, and some still are paid even more to deceive, to slyly change the subject, to reshape the argument in a way that's more beneficial to a side and less beneficial to the truth. Merchants of Doubt is the latest film from Documentarian Robert Kenner (Food, Inc.) and it looks at a number of public awareness issues, health hazards, and world-altering happenings that are spun in favor of a business, a political position, or in the name of the bottom line with little, or no, regard for the truth. If dangers -- cigarette smoking, global warming, deadly chemicals -- lie around every corner, one can be sure, the movie points out, that the deceivers lie in wait, too, ready to pounce on anything that goes against their own interests and reframe the debate to their benefit. It's a ping-pong game with the truth being slapped around from one side to the other, feverishly and without thought for the real people affected by it, the people who figuratively make up the table on and around which the wars of words are fought, where the battle for the hearts and minds of the people who only see a blur and the behemoths swatting around the ball is waged. But does Merchants of Doubt get to the heart of the matter, or is it simply one side of the argument disguised as being more objective than it really is?

Death is everywhere.

Merchants of Doubt covers three primary points of interest in which spinmeisters have expertly framed and reframed messages and changed the subject or focal point to their advantage: cigarette smoking, flame-retardant chemicals in furniture, and global warming. It studies how, out of the cigarette industry's push back against health warnings -- despite internal documents that did indeed state that smoking is hazardous to the smokers' health -- distortions, double-speaking, and "planting the seeds of doubt" by skilled public relations experts not only kept the industry humming and the public uncertain of the truth, but aided in pulling the wool over the public's eyes in other areas of concern, too. Cigarette makers, for example, turned the blame on fires sparked by lit cigarettes to the fuel instead, which led to dangerous chemicals being placed into everyday household items, chiefly furniture. The film moves on to cover the more immediate topic of global warming, linking deniers with those who are said to use the issue as a political tool by which they can identify hard-left socialists and how the topic has become so politicized that it's been linked to ideals of freedom of choice and an enemy of those who champion smaller government intrusion into people's daily lives rather than the focal point of the topic at hand: the temperature trends around the globe and the question of whether man is responsible for the change.

Objectivity is key in a Documentary, and Merchants of Doubt never quite finds it. Even as it battles big industry, climate deniers, and so on and so forth, the film always feels like it's taking sides rather than rolling right down the middle. Rather than merely expose all of the people -- anyone who believes there are only liars, deniers, "villains" on one side is naive -- who are essentially "shills" for some side of an argument, it really only ever denounces those who would land on the political right. Nearly every silly news clip comes from Fox News, and just about every "shill" in the movie is someone with a greater big money corporate or right-of-center political interest. The film doesn't deal in hard science or even hard fact but rather hard opinion, exposing people but not necessarily backing it up or taking the time to expose those who do the same on the other side of the spectrum. The movie is too clear cut good-and-evil, addressing something that's a very real problem but largely ignoring that such deliberate acts of deception do come from every direction, not just the political right and corporate America. Otherwise, the film is engaging on a base level and will leave the audience considering the broader points it raises, but it could have done so in a significantly more open, honest, balanced, and therefore convincing manner.

The film does do many other things well. It shapes its story in the prism of magic, sleight of hand, trickery, good old fashioned spin. There's a certain playful vibe to the magic parts, sort of a mood-inducing levity that counters, but also accentuates, the seriousness of the topics it covers, whether considering the actual dangers of things like cigarette smoking or chemical-laden furniture or lambasting the people who stand up for them. It looks at some fascinating elements as they relate to the human conditions and notions of idealism, activism, and the back-and-forth exchanging of jabs in point-counter point conflicts between "experts" who peddle sensationalism and feelings rather than hard data. The film finds some damaging anecdotes and dangerously broad-sweeping evidence against these people, showing clips of how their position evolves over time not necessarily with a greater understanding of the world around them (as is the case with former South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis) but rather those who shill for a movement, a company, or a party and speak with the blowing of the wind rather than from the heart.

Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Merchants of Doubt's 1080p transfer is pretty standard for a Documentary, meaning more than adequate but hardly breathtaking. The film's newly minted digital interview clips satisfy across the board, sporting quality clothing and revealing facial detail with nicely precise colors appearing on attire and backgrounds. There's bits of noise, aliasing, macroblocking, and banding scattered throughout, but one must usually be actively looking for them to be of more than cursory concern. In other words, they don't particularly hinder the presentation. There's plenty of old, vintage footage from the 50s all the way to through to the transition from 4x3 SD to 1.78:1 HD; older clips are in various states of poor quality, upconverted to 1080p but really in name only; such elements don't factor into the overall score.

Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much like its video counterpart, Merchants of Doubt's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack gets the job done in quality, but still unspectacular, fashion. Music isn't overly aggressive or abundantly lifelike, but it does offer good basic definition and full-stage placement. There are a few examples of various sound elements maneuvering around the stage to nice supportive effect. But the name of the game here is, unsurprisingly, dialogue, and the spoken word -- narration, interviews, vintage footage -- all play with the sort of crispness and definition expected from a lossless soundtrack, the older clips limited to their native elements but the newer presenting as well as can be expected.

Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Merchants of Doubt's supplements include a commentary and a Q&A session. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film.

• Audio Commentary: Director Robert Kenner opens with the how's and why's and the when's of the film's magic-centered metaphor and moves on to discuss the film's broader themes and technical details alike. He also shares personal anecdotes, bits that weren't included in the film, people who wouldn't appear or cooperate, and much more. There are some gaps in the track, rather lengthy (comparatively speaking) stretches in which he doesn't comment and the film's soundtrack takes over. Still, it's a nice support element that audiences may find of some value.
• An Evening at the Toronto International Film Festival with Robert Kenner (1080i, 17:44): TIFF Programmer Thom Powers hosts the director who discusses the film and answers a few questions after a screening, offering a number of good insights and support anecdotes that the film doesn't always provide.
• Unlikely Voices (1080p): Conservative leaders (and a big business) come out as pro-environmentalists. Included are Debbie Dooley (1:59), George Shultz (1:50), and Swiss Re (1:42).
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:00).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Merchants of Doubt Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's an agenda behind everything out there, and it's not often that that agenda is the actual, real, pure, unadulterated truth. Is Merchants of Doubt's agenda the truth? Partially, it seems, would be the answer. While it rightly rails against the spin and corporate, political, and special interest group interference in issues that very much need the light of truth shined on them, it feels like it's only playing half the field and pushing its own side rather than examining both with the fine-tooth comb with which it studies one. Still, it's well made and intriguing if nothing else, but it's not the eye-opening or even fully balanced documentary it wants, and needs, to be. Sony's Blu-ray release of Merchants of Doubt features good 1080p video and acceptable multichannel lossless audio. A few extras are included. Worth a rental.