Viewed in
2011
Formats
HDTV
Premise
A hodgepodge documentary based on the novel about numbers, human nature, and economics.
Liked
The sumo scandal section.
Thoughts
This was a weird documentary, as it had multiple directors doing short little chapters.
Not surprisingly, the best segment was the sumo wrestling scandal, directed by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). It had a fascinating subject and it was told in a compelling way. As a sometimes stat nerd, I was entertained by the entire movie's series of interesting short stories of incentives, causality, and statistics.
However, as a whole, Freakonomics never felt complete. There was no clear central theme, just a collections of mildly intriguing tales. I was confused if it was meant to be about the book, or an extension of the book, since one of the subjects talks about his actions after reading it. Obviously, part of my confusion may stem from me having not read the book yet.
Stat geeks with time to kill might find this hodgepodge amusing, can't say the same for casual moviegoers.
