By Glenn Dunks
The Fight is not a film about the ACLU. It’s probably wise to know that before going in. Because lord knows the American Civil Liberties Union have had their fair share of odious choices under the guise of free speech, namely defending anti-unionists, Nazis, the Klu Klux Klan, and—as seen briefly here, the only such moment of critical assessment—the Charlottesville white nationalists and their antisemitic tiki torch parade that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer in 2017.
What The Fight is, however, is a cleverly constructed documentary about four lawyers by three filmmakers who by happy accident or quickly assembled timing placed themselves on the frontlines (so to speak) of the American President’s war against the rights of immigrants, voters, women and transgender individuals. It’s a film that begins on the courthouse steps and in the airport waiting lounges as fast-typing associates battle against the ‘Muslim ban’ and which hasn’t let up in the three and a half years since...
Garza v. Hargan, Stone v. Trump, Department of Commerce v. New York, and Ms. L. v. ICE are not cases that we know by name yet; they're not Roe v. Wade or a Loving v. Virginia, but they probably will be. The cases cover the aforementioned Muslim ban, the transgender military ban, refugee access to medical care (in this case abortion) and the separation of parent and child asylum seekers. Alone they would provide enough material for an entire film (and no doubt they eventually will), but directors Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres (the former two directed Weiner on which Despres was also the editor and co-writer) along with an editing team of Despres, Greg Finton and Kim Roberts weave these four cases together in ways that highlight their similarities as well as their uniquely singular inhumane components. The connections make them all equally fascinating and a part of defeating a greater evil.
In that sense, and because its trio of filmmakers haven’t focused on the ACLU more broadly, the film functions just as much as a disturbing glimpse into the mindset of the current American regime. It looks at the way the President has waged war upon those who are often the most disenfranchised within our society, targeting the worse off and being remarkably cruel to factions of America who have struggled for too long for too little only to have those morsels of liberties so easily stripped. Many viewers probably don’t need to be reminded of this, but by placing them side by side by side by side proves to be powerfully riveting viewing.
It’s all very high stakes, and many of its most memorable moments come not from the wins themselves (well, those they get), but the minor details within -- the lawyer rehearsing his Supreme Court opening statement, the whiplash like way President Tr*mp’s latest attacks become frontpage news, the way its subjects eloquently contextualize the contemporary with the historic. (I could have done without the animation, but then I could always do without the animation.) And what the film loses by being positively overstuffed is the chance for us to glean something heretofore unprecedented about the civil process, particularly given the documentarians level of access. Still, there’s so much here that can and should act as a political tonic and it does so in a way that is appropriately celebratory to the women and men at its core.
Release: Available across VOD this Friday. You can see exactly where at the film's official website.
Oscar chances: Very likely it will factor into the season. The Fight has the same distributor as Oscar-nominated RBG and often this category can favour issues that are very of the moment. The election in November could play a part, too.