Near the beginning of the new millennium, two distinctly different events were high in the American public consciousness. The first was, of course, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The second was the collapse of the Enron Corporation. It implies a lot that the second item even deserves to be mentioned in a round-up of the news from that year.
While everyone at least understands the nuts and bolts of the terrorist attacks, the Enron scandal remains a vague concept in the minds of most Americans. “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” a new documentary that opens at the Bijou this Friday, is the perfect remedy for this ignorance. Step by step, it guides viewers through the Byzantine world of American finance, deregulation law and energy trading in which Enron flourished. That the film manages to remain engaging despite its often dry material says a lot for director Alex Gibney’s sense of structure and control.
It helps that the facts of the case are striking. Enron was a multibillion dollar company one day and in less than a month went bankrupt. Tens of thousands of people were suddenly out of work, billions in pensions and retirement benefits evaporated, and yet the top executives were getting hundreds of millions in bonuses. In a documentary marked only by its distinct lack of style, the story
unfolds from Enron’s inception during the early days of energy deregulation right up to founder Ken Lay
being led away in handcuffs.
Political bias is a question that must arise these days concerning any documentary of this type, yet “Enron” is remarkably objective in its retelling of the details (not to say it doesn’t take sides in some cases). And through it all, there is some amazing information not widely known to the general public. What is most incredible is that Enron went so long without anyone asking the right questions. The company essentially fabricated its own profits, reporting projected earnings rather than real ones. Major losses could be shown as major gains, investors and banks could be strung along with fake profits and analysts inflated stock values far beyond anything resembling
actual worth.
The sense of pure greed, the worst capitalism has to offer, permeates throughout every interview. While the documentary never comes out against deregulation, by showing a worst case scenario it makes a pretty compelling argument. Though the pure rush of information could cause viewers to lose interest, the overall view of human greed and hubris is compelling enough to get the film through the rough patches. In the end, the film condemns not an individual, but the materialistic culture in which such entities grow. The final product balances its educational value with its entertainment value in a way that makes this necessary viewing for anyone interested in American
corporate scandal.

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