Rather excellent

Ok. I have no idea how to review this thing. Regular mediums I use might not work here. But I'll still give it a go. First of all, in my opinion this thing is marketed as if it was a comedy of some kind. I warn you, it is not a comedy. It is an extremely dark drama, with very little, if any, dark humour in it. If you go into this expecting a comedy, you will be shocked. That is what happened to me. I try to keep my expectations as low as possible on all movies, but here I didn't quite succeed. Perhaps that worked to the movie's benefit, who knows. Anyhow, what should I comment on... The directing was pretty weird for a change. Fast Food Nation propably has the steadiest pace in a movie I've seen in ages, it movies extremely smoothly on it's blood and fat stained tracks like the midnight express. I just ain't all too used to a speed like that, usually all movies have atleast one part where the pace fastens up or slows down significantly. Fast Food Nation did not have one of those moments. Nowadays that is nearly an absurdity. Otherwise the directing was somewhat good, the lighting and overall cinematography deserve huge props, and the audiovisuality was excellent. Everything else about that section were somewhat mediocre though, even though by no means were they unfulfilling. They were simply there, nothing more or less. I think it quite suited the movie, because extreme experimentation with the colour scheme or something might've distracted us from the point of the movie.

And what is that point? I don't know. To show us things we've known for ages. Things like the unhumane treating of workers in meat packing plants, or the unhumane treating of cattle. Perhaps to how some people are so afraid of losing their jobs that they're willing to sacrifice the health of thousands of americans. It tries to enlighten us but it really just shows things that we've known for a fine while now. But that's just it. Fast Food Nation SHOWS innocent cows getting brutally slaughtered. It shows work accidents caused by drug abuse that's almost a have-to in a place like that. And it is so fucking sad. I did cry during the end and after the film. There's this scene in the end which is audiovisually so incredibly touching that it's hard to describe. Basically we just see what happens in "the kill floor" in the meat packing plant. It's propably the most depressing scene in modern cinema as of late. Really depressing.

The acting and such are good. Valderrama doesn't blow anyone away really, but on the other hand the guy did play Fez for ages and while watching this, you really don't feel like he'd be Fez, which is great. Kinnear and the other veterans give strong, admirable solid performances all around and are enjoyable to watch. Actually, Willis and Kinear really do give performances that enchance the movie in a way. Avril Lavigne also makes an appereance, and no, she isn't annoying as hell. Actually she was already great in Over The Hedge, and here she plays it appropiately low-key and well. Ashley Johnson has got to be one of my favourite current young female actors. She is such a damn cutie and fits her role perfectly, since she's one of those actors that can remain natural no matter what, and that is exactly what her role requires here.

Overall this is a solid, different, depressing and great movie. I loved it and it made me cry, and also I will propably never eat a hamburger again at a fast food place.

9/10