Midway through If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, I pondered how much research The Simpsons writer Matt Selman had done before penning the 12th season episode “Lisa The Tree Hugger”. If you don’t know it by name, I’m sure I can jog your memory – a very old tree is to be cut down, and the good looks of one Jesse Grass (Joshua Jackson) encourage Lisa into joining a group of radical environmentalists. Seeing footage of the movement that the radicalized ELF eventually grew out of, I couldn’t help but notice how the clothes, haircuts, and speech patterns matched up to the broad caricatures of the Simpsons episode. Perhaps it’s a lack of breadth on behalf of co-directors Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman that prevents the majority of environmentalists interviewed from delivering much more than sound bytes – the only person who really gets the time to flesh himself out is Daniel McGowan, now serving the remaining three of his seven years for conducting several acts of property destruction under the ELF banner.
Curry and Cullman start the film off strong, using McGowan’s house arrest to frame how the ELF came to be known as an “environmental terrorist” group, how peaceful protest met with brutality radicalized a select few and how, years after a major plan had been executed, the members were located and convicted. McGowan, a New York native, was apparently working in the same office as Curry’s wife when he was arrested – an odd coincidence that no doubt led to the making of the film. He is a soft-spoken, subdued man, whose introspective Q&A drives the film but stops just short of becoming narration. McGowan takes us through his own metamorphosis, in particular how he was galvanized to fight logging business encroaching on an ancient forest in Eugene, Oregon.
The footage amassed by the crew of If A Tree Falls is extraordinary, though the film never stoops to flaunt it as an accomplishment. Curry, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Street Fight, seems concerned largely with questions of morality and expanding our viewpoints beyond the good/bad, black/white dichotomies. His decision to interview the owners of the business that ELF took a dislike to reveals steadfast, normal men, with hardly anything that could be stretched, contorted and eventually demonized. To paraphrase one logging businessman, “no one likes the look of a fresh harvest,” an acknowledgment that damage is done, but also a defense in that the logging company plants six trees for every one cut down. Certainly these new trees will take centuries to get to the level of the giants that are cut down, but these individuals are not exactly salting the earth.
The most striking footage for most viewers, and one that the filmmakers use early on to help curry favor with the ELF’s members, is that of riot police breaking up protests. These men come in fast and hard, utilizing pepper stray and a variety of painful looking riot equipment to scatter the protesters. In one gasp-inducing scene, the officers spray a sit-in protester directly in the eyes while others beg them to stop. Certainly we can’t expect to know the whole story but the image of a human being who’s not putting up any resistance subjected to what is certainly incredible discomfort is stomach churning.
When we do see the results of ELF’s raids, it's not any prettier – collapsed buildings burnt to a crisp or a series of SUVs barbecued. Much like the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), the members of ELF aimed to never endanger human life (at first) and their operations were carried out so clandestinely the FBI never quite got on the trail. What makes McGowan stand out is his ability to question his decisions and an eventual falling out with ELF when they considered targeting people instead of buildings. He resents the term “terrorist” and while he faults the acts he participated in, McGowan is not morally shook up, rather regretful over how things turned out. While ELF evolved to promote social change by pressure and force, the only thing they apparently accomplished, insofar as this documentary demonstrates, is an active investigation against them. An interview with a particularly giddy detective on the details of the arrests (which are admittedly thrilling) almost makes you want to defend ELF and their mission.
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front ends on a harrowing scene involving McGowan and his family, including his father who outright says he doesn’t support his son’s beliefs. It’s a reminder of a fractured life, and unanswered questions – of the massive shade of gray between who is right and wrong. If a Tree Falls doesn’t attempt to provide answers, instead letting both sides speak their piece and leaving it to you to make the decision. That’s something that anyone can respect.
DVD Bonus Features
Oscilloscope Studios delivers top-notch extras for this release, including a commentary from the directors and an editor, deleted scenes, extended interviews that flesh out the people involved, and especially valuable, a follow-up featurette that shows us where the various key players are years down the road (certainly the film took time to shoot so this is especially valuable). On the tail end is a post-screening Q&A with Curry and Cullman and a series of trailers (including one for this film). All in all, a stellar collection of extras that really help round out the 90-minute doc.
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" is on sale August 30, 2011 and is not rated. Crime, Documentary, Drama. Directed by Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman. Written by Matthew Hamachek, Marshall Curry.
