Fast Food Nation (R, 2006)

FAST FOOD NATION follows the victims of the U.S. fast food industry. Don (Greg Kinnear), a marketer for fictionalized restaurant Mickey's, is troubled to learn of the meat packing plant's terrible working conditions and contaminations, but is told by two veterans of the business that he can't stop the corporate suits. The story of meat packing plant workers follows Sylvia (Catalina Sandino Moreno), her sister Coco (Ana Claudia Talancón) and boyfriend Raul (Wilmer Valderrama), who endure a horrible journey across the border to find work. Coco and Raul get jobs at the plant and succumb to drug addiction because their jobs are so miserable. In another part of the picture, the counter kids at the Mickey's find their own resistance. Brian (Paul Dano) spits in the obnoxious customers' orders, but Amber (Ashley Johnson) begins to research the production process and finds new friends among college-aged eco-activists. But for all their energy and creativity in protesting, they still can't slow down the system.

Unabashedly didactic, the movie creates a fictional narrative from the facts presented in Eric Schlosser's 2001 exposé of McDonald's corrupt practices, also called Fast Food Nation (a kids' version of the book was published under the title Chew On This). As it does so, it adopts seemingly meandering structure, much like other films directed by the ever-inventive Richard Linklater. Such a structure makes sense here, as it underlines the connections between the different sorts of people affected by Mickey's corner-cutting policies.

Fast Food Nation doesn't end well, but it does end powerfully. As Sylvia at last gives in and takes a job on the killing floor, she sees for the first time -- and the camera shows explicitly -- what she's been hearing about since she arrived in the U.S. It's a gruesome, unforgettable sight, and she, standing in for the rest of us, is suitably horrified.

Studio: Fox Searchlight
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Greg Kinnear, Wilmer Valderrama
Genre: Drama
Run time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release: November 16, 2006
DVD release: March 6, 2007
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: disturbing images, strong sexuality, language and drug content.