The Stranger

This sprawling, lurching, two-and-a-half-hour documentary, filmed over 17 years, has drawn fire from ideologically minded critics for its graphic depiction of a late-second-trimester abortion. The procedure culminates in a quick, efficient catalogue of ejected fetal body parts, from deflated skull to bulging little eyeball to tiny froglike foot. The scene is refreshingly to the point. Most of the rest of British filmmaker Tony Kaye’s (American History X) movie isn’t about abortion at all. It’s a freak-show parade of America’s pro-life terrorists. The film spends so much time obsessing over these fringe characters, who have clearly disqualified themselves from any moral discussion, that the actual philosophical and legal debate gets shoved aside, dominated by wonks like Noam Chomsky and Peter Singer and completely disconnected from political America. Lake of Fire is worth a look, but despite its length and eclecticism, it feels incomplete. By Annie Wagner