Silver City: not just for the politically aware

Casting his rod out into a serene, crisp lake, Dickie Pilager, played flawlessly by Chris Cooper, explains his plans to protect the wildlife when he wins his seat as governor of Colorado. Content, Dickie reels in his line, and catches a pleasantly discolored corpse from the murky depths of a postcard mountain lake.

In John Sayles' new movie Silver City, Pilager is luckily saved when his campaign manager Chuck Raven (Richard Dreyfuss) rushes to his aid. Now it is a matter of keeping everything under control, and more importantly, under wraps. Determined that this was an attempt to challenge Dickie, Raven assigns Danny Huston (Danny O'Brian) to investigate which colorful character planted the body.

Huston, former reporter, knows this is not the average corpse floating up in an
average lake. He decides to take responsibility for bringing whoever killed John Doe to justice, and uncover the truth behind the kickbacks and schemes that
revolve around Pilager's newest living community, Silver City.

What Sayles accomplishes is the creation of an accessible political movie in the wake of the controversial Fahrenheit 9/11. Silver City is often hilarious and confusing, but mostly politically poignant. There is nothing better than a film that influences people to look beneath the murky depths of what usually seems a crystal clear lake.

The town of Silver City is alot like John Candy's Canadian Bacon version of Quebec. So much goes on in Silver City, including sub-plots, fast dialogue, and complex political humor, that is easy to be left behind. Thankfully, John Sayles' sharp wit cuts through many fast-paced conversations, enabling everyone can enjoy his humor and not feel too stupid about misunderstanding obscure Clinton era reference.

Everybody can understand Sayles' political images. With help from Cooper,
Dickie Pilager is that same political candidate, red or blue, that spits out glittering generalities, fumbles over every sentence or frequently contradicts himself. Everyone can identify with the movie's angry radio propagandist, or the hippie sister, or the girlfriend who got away. The poor migrant workers celebrating the Day of the Dead in their run-down working town, 2000 miles from their home in Mexico, excellently illustrates the abuse of labor laws and immigration laws. Sayles succeeds in catching the audience's attention with his pictures, and raises issues that everyone can identify with, and eventually understand his message.

However, Silver City is still an intensely political drama. People who do not follow the news religiously, have multiple degrees in political science or have extreme political values will not necessarily enjoy this film as much as those who do. But Silver City's honest and in-your-face messages go where other media dares not tread - and that's something worth seeing.

Silver City is 124 minutes and rated R for drug content and obsenity.
Now playing at select theaters nationwide