Robbie Leppzer's documentary, An Act of Conscience is an engaging but deeply flawed documentary about one couple's effort to hold onto their home, lost to the federal government due to the couple's refusal to pay federal income tax. It's clear from the beginning of the film whose side Leppzer is on. You can hear it in the self-righteous tones of narrator Martin Sheen's voice as he describes the history of tax resistance. The film is meant to be a celebration of Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner's lifestyle of nonviolent defiance. That's all well and good, but it would certainly be a more interesting and worthwhile film if the filmmaker offered an opposing point of view. An IRS spokesman makes a brief and reasonable statement suggesting Kehler and Corner work within the system to effect change. Terry Chornesky, the unfortunate young woman who, along with her husband, Danny Franklin, buys the house at a federal auction, states her case simplistically, as someone of her background might be expected to. Chornesky and Franklin are portrayed as intolerant hicks, making fun of an Asian man who joins the protestors, and labeling Kehler and Corner "hippies." But they clearly don't have the access to Leppzer's camera, or the means to express themselves, that Kehler and Corner have. Some of the protestors express sympathy for Chornesky and Franklin. This act of civil disobedience seems more a personal statement of principle than a practical effort to effect change in the way the government spends tax money. But the protestors' decision to lay siege to the home for two long years seems to contradict their expressed principles. The principals are certainly valid, and they're expressed well. The film has moments of intrigue and drama, but it's too pedantic to win anyone over to its cause.
by Josh Ralske
review
