Tread

I don't usually like to watch documentaries but this one caught my attention because it was a kind of revenge thing. It was a well-written and a well-thought out 'film' and it is worth watching. What a pity that Reagan died the following day!

I believe Marv 100%. I grew up in a small town of 1100 people and anyone who grew up in a similar town knows these good old boys clubs exist without a doubt. There are 3 or 4 familys in these small towns and if you cross them, they will have you excommunicated and isolated and do whatever they can to smear your name. Marv had an extreme reaction to such an experience for sure and it's terrible that he did so, but anyone trying to act like his story doesn't hold any water at all is fooling themselves. These people undoubtedly pushed him and now want to act like they were innocent little lambs in all of it. Not buying it.

This news story always stuck in my mind when it was 1st reported well over a decade ago so I was intrigued to learn more about it. "Tread" tells the story of a man getting revenge on City Hall & building a marvel of a machine to exact it with. The film does a brilliant job at setting everything in motion, covering all sides of small town politics & a gifted welder driven to madness. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt during his rampage so there is nothing you have to turn your head away from while watching it. The incredible act of destruction is captured with actual news footage, photographs & some recreation. It'll give any action movie fan a rush. Do NOT let this documentary escape your attention.

Just like the Michael Douglas movie "Falling Down", this tragic documentary presents the viewer with an average guy who gets kicked repeatedly and eventually has enough.

I don't think they did a very good job in this documentary exploring the aspect of what, if any, actual corruption was involved in the town's actions against Marv, which is an unfortunate omission. They just interviewed a few of them and we should take it on faith that these people are on the up and up, apparently. Anyone with a cynical eye towards our dear leaders know better than that.

One could only wonder what the narrative would be like in 2020 with rampant protests across the US. Would Marv be viewed as a "peaceful" protester, "peacefully" destroying a city while "peacefully" shooting at cops and "peacefully" trying to murder people he disagrees with? Is he an anti-hero in today's anti-cop/anti-government context?

Had the documentary been produced in the midst of today's (summer of 2020) news cycle, maybe they would have spun it different? Makes you think.

This documentary probably doesn't begin to tell the reality of both sides that came to a tragic head when Marv Heemeyer enacted the ultimate "payback". To truly get a picture of what the dynamics at play were we need to have some more folks who knew Marv and have his backstory meticulously fleshed out. Why not? The whole film rides on Marv's final actions so shouldn't we be more privy to his life up until this point? I'm looking to wholly and not coincidently explain how this all came to be.

Anyway, Hollywood loves revenge movies as we all know. Strange as it seems when it is real it is something to absolutely loathe, especially in the case of a man who unprovoked would have just been a "muffler store" owner.

Perspective-wise: no one was injured and only the protagonist died by his own hand. That is still tragic but we all know if this is wholly despicable or not depends on how band Marv was truly treated. That is the flaw here as I just do not find enough even-handed research to shed light on everything the led up to Marv's final, seemingly quite clear-headed, reality break (he wasn't a Blues Bro., but he felt he was on a mission if you follow).

See this. It is a sociology fiasco of unparalleled proportions. It might have been more deadly and it is quite fortunate it wasn't. As such it is a study in human behavior the viewer may well hunger for a more in-depth explanation.