Sicko movie review

There’s much to commend and much to be exasperated by in this documentary. It eloquently states that the USA’s (over)reliance on the insurance industry leaves the most vulnerable shortchanged in the healthcare stakes. And then it says it again. And again. Once that point has been rammed home, Moore traipses over to Canada, England and France where he makes another point thrice: these countries have more equitable and inclusive healthcare systems than the USA’s. Finally, in what’s becoming a Moore trademark, poorly treated patients head to Guantanamo Bay where, it’s claimed, inmates have better access to healthcare than many American folk. What this revelatory exercise lacks, however, is journalistic rigour. What do US politicians say about their health system’s life-threatening loopholes? The viewer never finds out, so Moore’s left sounding like a biased, bleeding-heart liberal, an image that undermines his credibility. What this issue deserves is more thoughtful debate because, for some, the outcome really is a matter of life and death.