Fast, Cheap & Out of Control on AllMovie

Idiosyncratic filmmaker Errol Morris (known for such off-beat documentaries as Gates of Heaven and A Brief History of Time) adds another original film to his distinguished resume with the documentary Fast, Cheap & Out of Control which contains interviews with four disparate visionaries whom Morris describes as representing ""four versions of the myth of Sisyphus." Best appreciated from a metaphysical view, Morris's eccentric subjects represent the past and future of humanity. Dave Hoover trains lions and tigers for the circus and idolizes late animal trainer Clyde Beatty. He and avid topiatrist George Menonca, who loves shaping shrubs and bushes into fantastic animal and geometric shapes, represent increasingly archaic art forms. Ray Mendez has spent most of his life studying mole-rats, hairless, blind rodents that can chew through cement. Rodney Brooks creates insect-like robots and believes that they will eventually supplant biological life forms. These two offer a disturbing look at the possible future. Interview sequences are spiced up with a vast assortment of related images to create a decidedly impressionistic feel that makes the film difficult to assess on a merely literal plane.