Dark Money

"Dark Money" exposes the dangers of unbridled, anonymous political spending so expertly that it will make you fume with anger, practically quake with distress.

The undue influence of money on elections is not exactly news, but the ways in which that influence can now be secured, given the current state of the law, certainly is.

"Dark Money" takes a detailed look at an unexpectedly complex situation that is at the heart of political action today.

Activist in tone, and paced like a thriller, Reed's movie painstakingly details how an election can be brusquely seized and swayed by unseen forces.

Engrossing, lucid, and unsettling...

Damning, clear-eyed, and as gripping as any John Grisham thriller.

"Dark Money" restores your faith in democracy, as the little, almost voiceless guys stand up to deep-pocketed muckety mucks to expose how the proliferation of PACs have nearly choked the life out of a government for the people, by the people.

Eventually we get where Reed is going.

The film's basic problem is that it jumps around too much... Still, Reed and her team have boiled down their presentation to a manageable 99 minutes that's fascinating, absorbing, and mind-altering.

Dark Money makes clear that as social media and other parts of the internet continue to merge with the consequences of Citizens United, the opportunities for undetected corporate and foreign influence in elections will only multiply.

The admirable clarity... allows maximum insight as well as maximum outrage. Culprits are named; schemes are floodlit. Only the dullest viewer could fail to engage with Reed's superb nonfiction thriller.

If you've been bothered by any political developments since the Citizens United ruling came down, you'll find common cause in Dark Money.