Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2011

© 2010 Freakonomics Movie, LLC

A quintet of noted documentarians brings the 2005 bestseller to the screen, with predictably mixed results. Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) does the chapter “A Roshanda by Any Other Name,” about whether one’s name has any bearing on success in life. A tad facetious. Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) takes on “Pure Corruption,” about cheating in Sumo. Probably the most compelling segment, especially for people in Japan. Eugene Jarecki (Why We Fight) then tackles the book’s most controversial theory in “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life,” postulating that a major reason for the recent drop in US crime rates was a direct result of the abortion legalization in the ’70s and the resultant drop in the number of unwanted children. Fascinating, really. And finally, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) check in with “Can a Ninth Grader Be Bribed to Succeed?” At best inconclusive. The book’s authors Seth Gordon and Stephen Dubner, who chat between segments, certainly have an outside-the-box, conventional-wisdom-defying approach to understanding what makes us do the things we do. The film’s presentation is enjoyable and accessible, entertaining even. There’s something to be learned here for everyone. But you could possibly learn it better from the book.