Review of Standard Operating Procedure

Morris' Abu Ghraib Doc Goes Heavy On Style, Light On Content

The first note I wrote down during the course of watching Errol Morris' latest doc, Standard Operating Procedure, was: "SO Errol Morris!" And how. If Morris has achieved anything as a filmmaker, it has been the proving of the fact that documentaries allow for just as much stylistic flourish as fiction films. Indeed, one has to wonder sometimes if Morris views content as just a shifting background, a necessary (but uninteresting) stand-in that enables him to explore and progress with his aesthetic. This is a jaded and cynical viewpoint, and no doubt far from the truth. Is it really so much to imagine that a filmmaker could be both stylistically determined and interested in content, at the same time? For many years, Morris has proved to be such a filmmaker. Standard Operating Procedure might be the first (and only, thus far) piece of evidence to the contrary. Morris' doc is a formally sound and stylistically stunning film, but it is a film about a subject, and with a point, that has already been driven home into American consciousness. And then some. Standard Operating Procedure is a documentary about the American soldiers who took, and participated in, the photographs of Iraqi detainees taken at Abu Ghraib, which went on to be bandied about the world, heavily affecting the image of the United States. Ever hear of this scandal? Oh, you have? Okay then. Have you read anything further about it? If the reader's knowledge of the Abu Ghraib scandal goes no further than the knowledge that it occurred, Standard Operating Procedure might be worthwhile viewing. As a viewer who's read enough about the scandal to know most of the points that Morris trotted out as (supposedly) dramatic surprises and twists, I was bored, to say the least. Morris does a good job of humanizing the soldiers who were running the prison and taking the photos, allowing them to tell their side of the story for perhaps the first time in such a public forum as the movies. The job the soldiers do of humanizing themselves could have been better, though. One soldier remarks, "Well, it's not like we shot them, or cut them, or anything...". Another adds that it "kind of felt bad" when she realized a detainee was dead, tortured to death by CIA interrogators. Yes, I suppose sympathy from these soldiers can only be extended so far. All in all, they give off the aura of a child who feels bad for what he's done, even though he's not exactly sure why he's supposed to feel bad. Throughout all of the interviews and the humanization and the realizations about governmental oversight, the cover-ups, and the sanctioning of what went on, Morris' formalism surges. The framing of his subjects is so perfect in its frontal composition that you feel as if the subject is about to pop out of the screen. His slow-motion, floating camera movements over key objects bring a sense of quiet observation to the film. And then there is the dread. At the beginning of each new section, Morris will cut to disturbing shots as non sequiturs - close-ups of enormous ants, or a blood-streaked floor - and only then, after arousing your anxiety, will he proceed into the section that explains these elements. It's a brilliant formal technique. Yet formal techniques can only take one so far. Morris' documentary puts forth the following plot points as key and revelatory: the government higher-ups knew what was going on in Abu Ghraib, and encouraged it. Other governmental forces were using Abu Ghraib to house prisoners they were torturing. When the photos leaked, governmental higher-ups denied any such knowledge, even though they had known perfectly well what was going on. The soldiers who took the photos were merely sacrificial lambs, sent to jail with excessive prison sentences to slake the anger of Americans as well as foreign countries. If any of the above points are shocking or surprising to you, then perhaps you will find Standard Operating Procedure enjoyable and informative. However, if these points just sound like obvious observations that are as far from shocking as anything gets, you might want to spend your time watching a different Errol Morris documentary. Try Fast, Cheap & Out Of Control. -- Zachary Wigon

Posted on 03/25/08 by: FC Scribes 01:37 PM