I know Rich Hall from his standup comedy and music, but over the last decade he has added this documentarian thread to his career, doing mostly very good films for BBC4 that focus on elements of North America culture. Here he focuses on the American Dream of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, of hard work being the way to success. He looks at the history of that, the culture it produces, the art and media related to it, and of course the reality for the majority of people.
In terms of content it is well structured to cover a lot of ground but do so in a way that is accessible, never overdoing detail but not being pressured to keep it all light and fun either. It is an interesting deconstruction of a society and, although it has a simplicity to its message, it is still engaging and interesting throughout. Hall adds to this with his dry wit and delivery, and the digs and asides work in the wider context of the film because he keeps everything together. Solidly accessible documentary that makes for interesting material and good humour.
In terms of content it is well structured to cover a lot of ground but do so in a way that is accessible, never overdoing detail but not being pressured to keep it all light and fun either. It is an interesting deconstruction of a society and, although it has a simplicity to its message, it is still engaging and interesting throughout. Hall adds to this with his dry wit and delivery, and the digs and asides work in the wider context of the film because he keeps everything together. Solidly accessible documentary that makes for interesting material and good humour.