Little Pink House

I read one review that felt this film was depressing. Interestingly, I found it the opposite. I found it encouraging and even somewhat uplifting because of the fight and determination that Susette Kelo (the real life woman who we meet at the end of the film who inspired the story). It opens eyes to political and big corporate deceit. It opens eyes to how our voices can be heard and the importance of the fight. This film is not about being entertained as much as it is an important one to watch. The performance are also outstanding. Not overly dramatized. Honest and to the point. Highly recommended.

For the history for the US, federal state and local government have been able to take private property "for public use" if no reasonable alternatives . It is, in fact in the Constitution. BUT the left Supreme court justices, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer, along with centrist Kennedy decided to reinterpret this and conflate a new insanely broad "public purposes" allowance of seizure with "public use." Public use meant a needed road, fire station, library, extending an airport, etc. Public purposes means anything any government entity decides is in the public interest: specifically anything that will increase the tax base. So if your home is single story, Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kennedy decided that your town, count or state can seize your home and sell it to any developer or corporation that would build something larger, be it a corporate headquarters, or just a bigger home for someone else to live in, on the basis that this increases taxes which is supposed to be a "public purpose." This documentary, while slightly uneven tells the story of the court case and the shameful decision by corporate lackeys like Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, breyer etc.

This film gets to you. As a retired constitutional lawyer, I'm usually hard on Hollywood's typical cutting-corners presentations of legal procedures and issues. And as a life-long performer of various kinds, I usually view acting with a critical eye. This film did a great job of both: the actors playing Susan Kelo and her boyfriend were so believable & created so much empathy for the characters, that it was actually a wrench to see photos of the story's real-life principals at the end, to be reminded by those that it *was* acting. The writer and director did an excellent job of making the substance of complex & very serious legal issues accessible, and the procedural steps clear and comprehensible. Even the scene of a Supreme Court argument, usually something very, very difficult to distill simply, was tight, succinct and clear. Throughout, the human elements of the story predominated: what eminent domain did to the people of one neighborhood -- and the human elements were very engrossing. The villains may seem to outside eyes just a slight touch caricatured, but I am sure that, through the eyes of Susan Kelo and her neighbors, the bureaucrats, politicians & functionaries who knowingly stole their homes, deserved every bit of those portrayals. An excellent job overall!

This is somewhat of a depressing film to watch, as we all know the ending, and it's not a happy one. The highest court in the land basically said it was fine for government to seize the private property of Party A and give it to Party B if the net result was more revenue for the government doing the seizing. Stalin, Mao, Mussollini and Hitler would have hailed the decision. The film itself is a bit understated and there are no top tier actors involved, but the story is told well and everyone acquits himself well here. It is worth noting that, in the final Supreme Court decision it was those nasty and mean-spirited right-wing conservatives - O'Connor, Rehnquist, Thomas and Scalia - who sided with Ms. Kelo, while all the liberal champions of the poor and downtrodden - Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kennedy and Stevens - said it was fine for the government to seize working people's private property.

Little Pink House is based on the true story of Susette Kelo, who was threatened of eviction from her home by the city of New London, Connecticut. It follows her from purchasing her house, to being pressured to sell and finally through legal battles.

Miss Kelo is portrayed admirably by Catherine Keener who gives a gritty, raw performance. The situation tearing her apart can be felt. Similarly the majority of the rest of the cast are up to the task.

Unfortunately the script and directing feel very much like a TV movie. Some scenes are just over the top in whether they could happen or not. The woman portrayed as the villain in the film, head of the Development Corporation trying to take the land is given some ridiculous lines, and has no shades of grey to her.

It's unfortunate that what is a moving story of the ability of the US government's ability to seize land is left in such mediocre hands. There was promise here, just unfulfilled.