After many months, I have finally gotten around to Murderball, one of 15 documentaries currently in contention for the Oscars. The film is an MTV picture in ever sense. Not only does it have the X-game factor, it has the editing, style, pace, and feel of an MTV special. The film almost seems like a short piece made for MTV that was too damn good not to make into a feature film. 

Murderball is a constantly exciting film, and some of the camera work is absolutely stunning. They make wide use of microscopic cameras and wide angle lenses, although few shots are held long enough to really resonate. You have to accept it, and this isn't a blending of styles, instead it is a rather clear cut pace we are thrust into and the film doesn't break for it. 

I'm very thankful that the film is a documentary. They could have easily made a fictional film about these same people, thrown in a weepy "I miss my legs" scene and had the US come from behind to win it all. As things turn out Murderball doesn't play out like a Cinderella story, or even a film of any conventional predictability, instead it is just a damn good story. 

Although the film is certainly one of the better non-fiction films I've seen this year, it may not have a lock on the Oscars, considering they have a pre-determined bias towards MTV style films, Chicago notwithstanding. Plus they have a tendancy to go way off base when it comes to documentaries. These characters work, and I think that the film picked the right bunch to single out. Sure there were more players on the team, but only a few really made the picture, it helped that they picked the people with the most charisma, but they are making a film after all, and believe it or not even with a documentary the main objective is to be entertaining.

Grade A -