Many critics have described Errol Morris's 1996 documentary, Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, four tales of Sisyphus involving a topiary gardener, a lion tamer, a robot designer, and an expert on the naked mole rat. In his review, Roger Ebert describes it in a very direct and truthful way, saying, "[This film] is about four people who are playing the game more strangely than the rest of us. They have the same goal: to control the world in a way that makes them happy." One of the fascinating things about this film is this dichotomy in structure. One aspect involves the way in which Morris, himself, edits the film and inserts the found footage to emphasize one aspect of the philosophies being expressed among these four men. The other involves the four men themselves and what they say. In essence, the film's direction is both motivated by the subtle slyness of the director that is true in all of his films as well as the stories and ideologies brought for from the social actors...which is true in all of Morris's films.
I have always considered this film to be Morris's most complex...if that's something you can possibly say taking into consideration Morris's filmography. I think I come to this conclusion because the film is centered on these four individuals who are all passionate in these unorthodox professions, on the surface totally different from each other, such that we find ourselves trying to orchestrate self-generated motifs and ideas between the men. It's not all motivated by our own interaction with the film; Morris is keen on making some of these connections clear. The most prominent being that of the numerous shots of the circus; beautifully shot, mind you. Is life like being in a circus? Italian director Federico Fellini would say so. Maybe you don't agree to the same magnitude, but our actions in life can be looked upon by an audience who can either laugh, applaud, be frighten at, or even be bored at. This film is a reflection of how we observe these men who do peculiar things in their life as well as how we react to them.
Nonetheless, I have made several connections besides the over-arching themes that paint a picture of Sisyphus, passion, and activity to control their environment. One is to understand the unknown or the primal instinct. I explicitly refer to Dave Hoover (the lion tamer) and Ray Mendez (the mole rat expert), who both discuss how they get inside the animal's head to essentially think like them; one tries to outsmart them while the other tries to please them. Another connection can be made between the Rodney Brooks (robot designer) and George Mendoca (topiary gardener) in that they create things and essentially animates things far more than the parts appear to be. Yet, it is up to the individual to take the connections seriously; this film doesn't conclude with any sort of conventional closure a documentary may usually have.
I have to single out the George, though, in that I sympathize with him the most in regards to his situation which I feel most directly correlates with Sisyphus's situation in the Greek myth. He describes the trials and tribulations of being a topiary gardener, something many people don't even know exists. He keeps on cutting the shrubs to animate them, though the shrubs will only keep growing. In addition, a hard rain could fall and wipe out all the work he has done. He also mentions he has spent over half his life in the same garden tending the same shrubs; he is around seventy years-old. The film ends with a quote of his that encapsulates the beauty of the film and reinforces Morris's notion that he isn't trying to undermine these men but only highlight their eccentric passion. George says in referring to keeping the 'Green Animals alive, "As long as I live, I'll take care of it." This simple statement is ratified to such broad illustrations of human passion and the will to live. Looking at it existentially, which is what Albert Camus did with Sisyphus, we should applaud the choice George makes to keep on going, to keep cutting the shrubbery even though it will always disfigure in due time. Though, you are sure to find strands from the other men that link to this myth, but I will leave that to you. Nonetheless, there is a melancholic serenity I find in seeing, in some of the well-constructed shots, George walking in the rain by his elegant and fragile shrubs.
I would like to note the extravagant cinematography by Robert Richardson (who did work on Oliver Stone's JFK), who visualizes each of the men and what they dedicate their lives to with such beautiful chaos, humanly mysterious. Though, the essential brilliance in this film lies, as always, with the people Morris has found and has open up their lives to us. The men share their thoughts and passions which are full of live and thought, memories and feelings. The patented interrotron, made by Morris, allows for these men to look straight at us when they speak, their storytelling becomes all the more effective. This film, an exploration into the natural chaos we have in delving into a universe filled with uncertainties, is a testament to humans cope with such uncertainties and how they brings these mysteries into a form where they can keep on keepin' on.
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