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MOVIE REVIEW

UNCIVIL LIBERTIES

By:  David Deschesne,

Editor/Publisher, Fort Fairfield Journal

   Uncivil Liberties is a new political thriller by independent film maker, Tom Mercer.  Uncivil Liberties takes the viewer into a realm few movies dare tread today - reality.  Mercer explores the reality of what can go horribly wrong when government goes too far in providing security, and paramilitary groups go too far demanding their freedom.

   I have chosen to avoid using the term "militia" to describe the freedom fighting zealots in this movie, since a militia is defined by statute in most states as "all able-bodied males and females between the ages of 18-45 not already enlisted in the U.S. military or National Guard."  The militia operates under the direction of the governor and, when activated, comprises their respective state's State Guard - which is a separate entity from the National Guard.  That distinction between lawful militias and violent paramilitary groups is not clearly drawn in Uncivil Liberties, but perhaps should have been.  Ergo, to use the term militia as an adjective for radical zealots would be inaccurate and unfair. 

   However, the militia, operating as the Citizen's Defense, is the final bulwark against a government that has either become corrupt, or sold out to corrupt interests and has decided to stop exercising its Constitutional authority to safeguard the people and their rights from encroaching tyrants.  I believe Mr. Mercer does know that fact and it is unfortunate that today's vernacular doesn't offer him an alternate word.

    As an independent film, Uncivil Liberties lacks the special effects and frills big-budget movie viewers have grown accustomed to.  But, what it lacks in "bling" it makes up for in message.  It is produced in good quality, at the level of a modern made-for-television movie, with a professional staff of actors and actresses.

   Choosing to portray the human side of both groups, Mercer cleverly uses story writing and scene decisions to show the personal side of a Department of Homeland Security bureaucrat named Cynthia Porter (Penny Perkins), who begins to see the dangers inherent in her zeal to develop the ultimate computer tracking program for the government;  and a paramilitary officer,  hired to assassinate her and thus "liberate" the American people from the clutches of tyranny.   While her assassin has a last minute change of heart and decides not to follow through, Porter is unjustly fingered as a potential "terrorist" by her own computer program and a by-the-book Department of Homeland Security administrator, Eric Walker (Kevin Craig West; For the Love of the Game, Law and Order) then chooses to remove her from her own project.

   Porter's sister, Pat (Yvonne Perry, As the World Turns) is a Libertarian radio announcer who helps her sister see the dangers inherent in a government that seeks total security even at the expense of the citizenry's liberty - a government existing for its own ends, institutionalized to the point that the preservation of its own monopoly of power has become more important than the job of maintaining a free society with which it was originally charged.

   The plot of the movie runs along nicely and keeps the viewer's attention.  The actors do their job well and the film quality is good.  A strong focus on the personal lives of the actors within the movie shows the human element of both sides of the freedom vs. security equation.  "There is no system, just people" and "People should look each other in the eyes before they start killing for causes" are two of the movie's most powerful maxims which help illustrate the ultimate danger in all zealot groups, from government to paramilitary, is unfettered, unquestionable loyalty to their cause.

   As its subtitle says, Uncivil Liberties boldly illustrates "What Lies Between Liberty and Security" and forces the viewer to consider the value in tempering their ideologies, regardless of which side of the equation they choose to place their faith in.

    I will forgo the traditional "star" and "thumbs up or down" rating systems, since it's not my style.  It is enough to say Mr. Mercer has done a good job with this movie and  I recommend it for the video libraries of all who are students of government tyranny throughout history in general and in the United States in particular.   Uncivil Liberties is available on DVD for $13.95 plus shipping at www.uncivilliberties.com