Mann V. Ford | Review

Between 1967 and 1971, the Ford Motor Company knowingly dumped massive amounts of industrial waste in the rural forest areas, and abandoned mines of Upper Ringwood, New Jersey. The Ramapough Mountain Indians, who have always called this impoverished area home, never gave much thought to the brightly colored paint sludge that was found in their backyards and nearby streams until nearly everyone in the neighborhood started to develop a variety of devastating health problems that range from festering skin diseases to fatal cancers. After almost 40 years and a lengthy death toll, the small community has finally come together, filing a mass action lawsuit against Ford with hopes of the massive corporation being held accountable for its wrongdoings, and as a community, find some kind of closure to a heartbreaking chain of irresponsible, and disgraceful acts against the Ramapough. Maro Chermayeff and Micah Fink’s Mann Vs. Ford follows the development of the case over a five year period in traditional doc fashion, creating a film that, like many others, will leave you feeling disgusted with the US legal system, and the corporations that seem to control every country where capitalism is the economic structure.

A plump middle aged man with a leathery face and a dark brown complexion, Wayne Mann seems to know just about everyone that lives in the small town where he’s lived his entire life, and who’s large family tree looks to have barely survived a tornado so many branches have fallen. In 2005, he decided to take the lead in his community’s search for justice, contacting The Cochran Firm, and hiring a feisty southern attorney named Vicki Gilliam, who’s story sounds strikingly similar to that of Erin Brockovich’s. Gilliam, along with a massive legal team, assembled over 600 plaintiffs, charging Ford with negligent toxic poisoning, as well as property damage. During the 1980s, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed Ringwood on the Federal Superfund List, which meant that Ford was forced to pay for the area to be cleaned up, removing any and all toxic waste. Following a Ford run cleanup in the 90s, the EPA officially declared the area clean and safe for living, but an incredible amount of arsenic and dioxin emitting waste was left behind. Making history, the community forced the EPA to admit that it was wrong, and the area was placed back on the Superfund List. The lengthy trial that ensues is fouled up by legal technicalities, a nose diving economy, and a judge makes it near impossible to present a fair case.

Chermayeff and Fink stick to a non-flashy aesthetic with standard interviews, and a keen eye for the documentation of major events as the case unfolds. The pair thoroughly investigate the case using their two main subjects, Mann and Gilliam, as charismatic lead storytellers. A variety of personal memories from community members inter-cut with archival footage of waste being dumped, and kids playing in toxic streams leave little to the imagination. Key witnesses and investigative journalists, who have a wealth of information about Ford, and its impact on the area, add to the already weighty evidence collected. As you might have guessed, Ford declined to be interviewed for the film.

Mann Vs. Ford is yet another sad account of big industry committing vile acts of social injustice against a community already at the bottom rung of society. The film shows a Native American clan who hold family close, but who’s unfounded bad reputation has left them lepers in their own community. Chermayeff and Fink’s new HBO docu has lifted the veil on the unfortunate situation in Upper Ringwood, and with the added exposure, Ford should be more than a little embarrassed.

HBO Television Premiere.

Rating 3.5 stars