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Sicko

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by Kerry McLeod
Michael Moore has done it again. And that’s either a positive or negative thing depending on whether you’re a fan or a critic of his style. Not that it matters. He’s the George Lucas of the documentary world; he’s almost above criticism – whether it’s a stinker or a classic, it’s guaranteed to be a hit.

For what it’s worth, Sicko is Michael Moore’s take on the American healthcare system and once again he goes straight for the jugular. He takes a group of 9/11 heroes to Cuba, where they receive treatment for debilitating conditions developed as a result of taking part in the Ground Zero rescue and clean up operations; for any patriotic American, that has to hurt. He visits Canada, France and England, where he eulogises the ‘socialised medicine’ of these countries, holding up an almost unrecognisable NHS as a beacon of enlightenment. He finds the usual stories of hardship and tragedy, no less shocking because we expect them. And, as usual, the whole story, with all its seeming digressions, is told through his extremely witty, wry voiceover.

This time, however, there is no bad guy, no one person who represents all that is bad about America. From Roger and Me through to his last film before this, Fahrenheit 9/11, Moore has had a target and the archetypal characters that he uses – Everyman hero (him) and villain (Roger Smith, Charlston Heston, George Bush – take your pick) – are part of what makes his films so accessible. On the flip side, Sicko is the stronger for not having a baddie. While remaining simplistic in its exposition, Moore seems to be acknowledging that the world is slightly more complex than he’s hitherto told us, and that even his beloved American people might be at least partly to blame for having rejected a public healthcare system. Sicko is ever so slightly subtler than his previous work, and as such is probably less likely to get the headlines and box office of a film like Fahrenheit 9/11. This is a shame – it deserves it more.
If there’s one thing that continues to grate, however, and must surely be noticeable to any UK audience no matter what their political persuasion, is that he overdoes it. The NHS is fantastic; it has its flaws, but it’s one of the best things about being British, and it doesn’t need Moore’s rose-coloured tint to make it so. In fact, his romanticising undermines its strength, in the same way as his bumbling Daniel taking on the slick capitalist Goliath raises so many questions, because often it simply beggars belief.

And yet, he is so good at what he does. He remains the only filmmaker making documentaries that most people have heard of, indeed whose films many people have actually seen. More than that, Sicko is immensely enjoyable, especially as for once a Brit can watch it and feel smug that we’ve got something right.
Dir. Michael Moore, USA, 2007, 123 mins, cert. 12A

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