By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by William Hart
• Not Rated

Without doxxing my location, I live close to Flint, Michigan, so the water crisis that was unveiled in 2014 and still somewhat transpires to this day is something that hit close to home in more ways then one. Outside of simply being one of those stories too absurd to believe at first, it’s also a story about government negligence and what happens when officials forget the duty they represent to the people they are supposed to be helping.

Lead and Copper doesn’t focus on that, or at least not on the surface. It ultimately is about that by the end, but Lead and Copper instead takes a smaller, more intimate dive into the story by focusing on the people themselves. Outside of a couple of politicians – most of which conveniently seemed to decline having an appearance in this, I wonder why – most of the people interviewed here are the everyfolk, the people in the midst of the crisis and the people who wished to change it.

While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to presenting it’s subject matter, Lead and Copper‘s snappy delivery and fast pace keeps you on the edge as if this is the first time you are hearing this story told. It’s thoroughly researched, as director William Hart clearly wants to show, and by the heavy focus on dates you can see just how far the corruption goes and how long it permeated within these communities. Hart makes sure to never go overboard either, keeping the story grounded in the facts presented rather then simply overwhelming the audience with emotions at all fronts. After all, the subjects on screen already do that, so let them do the talking and instead simply be a vehicle for them to express that.

What’s truly anger inducing about Lead and Copper though is how, halfway through it’s runtime, it expands it’s scope to reveal truths about the entire country. It’s a rightfully furious anger, one led by a dwindling faith in institutions and the people in charge. And while the film’s lack of focus on the other places affected by the same issues can be seen as a detriment, if anything one could simply extrapolate that problems in Flint are just symptoms of a greater more widespread issue.

I’m not going to convince you that Lead and Copper is somehow the best or most revolutionary documentary ever made, cause it certainly isn’t. This is mostly Ken Burns lite in some areas, using a historical event (or at least modern historical) as a way to discuss current issues in America. But when it’s made this well – and on a topic so clearly near and dear to the filmmaker’s heart – then it’s absolutely worth a look if you get the chance to see it nearby as it makes the festival circuit. Wonderfully anger inducing.