Taking Liberties

OneWorld UK

By Daniel Nelson

See Taking Liberties, and see it soon.

The film business being what it is, a successful first weekend at the box office will ensure it stays on our screens, while a lack of customers could see a rash of cancelled bookings by cinema chains.

And its important. The film chronicles New Labours destruction of civil liberties. Yes, its a polemic, and No, theres little thats revelatory. There are one or two Michael Moore moments, but although its fast-moving and entertaining, for the most part it uses actual footage and talking heads to make its case.

Theyre all featured - Brian Haw and his one-man Parliament Square protest, Boris Johnson for the libertarian right, the NatWest 3 (director Chris Atkins suggests that City anger over their extradition under a one-sided agreement with the US helped raised money for the film), the alleged ricin bombers (but no ricin), Moazzam Begg, evicted Labour Party protester Walter Wolfgang, self-styled civil liberties nerd Shami Chakrabarti, assorted grannies, lawyers, activists, students and their worried parents, Guantanamo guards and their hovering minders, an oh-so-sincere Tony Blair - the list goes on.

Theres damning, infuriating footage of clumsy - often illegal - policing, and a number of moments of telling detail that surprise even when you know the overall story well.

Its not perfect, its not balanced, it overstates the case: nevertheless it's a case that needs to be discussed.

Part of the problem is that historically our liberties have been built up by curbing the powers of the state. Now the state is clawing back both its power and our liberties by redefining the threat as coming from terrorists and arguing that only the state can defend us.

The result has been a 10-year epidemic of rushed, repressive and inadequately scrutinised legislation. The laws have been shocking and shabby, and the film grabs you by the collar and says, You cant remain silent in the face of this assault.

See it, and act.

* A book has been published to accompan the film.