Taking Liberties Review

With its partisan persuasion and grim entertainment, Taking Liberties follows a familiar and well-established formula to reveal a new evil of the modern age. Since the terrorist attacks on New York in 2001, claims director Chris Atkins, "a group of sharp suited PR Men and management consultants called New Labour have stolen the rights and freedoms of the British People."

And his evidence is compelling. There are the peaceful protesters on their way to a demonstration intercepted by police and forcibly escorted back to London, the RAF veteran arrested under the Terrorism Act for wearing an anti-Blair T-shirt, and of course Walter Wolfgang, the 82-year-old Labour Party member ejected from the 2005 Labour Party Conference for shouting "nonsense" at Jack Straw. Most viewers will have heard these stories before, but what sets them apart here is the connecting narrative and remarkable footage, some of it being shown for the first time. It is genuinely astonishing that people can be imprisoned without trial, prevented from protesting and even have their freedom of speech curtailed in modern Britain, and as Atkins gets behind the headlines the stories assume a new significance.

For all its power though, the film suffers for the strength of its argument. As commentators line up to condemn the government and as more footage is presented of demonstrators being wronged by petty-minded plods, all sense of proportion is lost. There are some wonderfully subtle and heartfelt moments, but they become buried under the invective and the film's increasing tendency towards right and wrong, good and evil.