Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room

Director: Alex Gibney

Starring: Peter Coyote, Ken Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow, Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind

Based on the book of the same name this film charts the dramatic rise, growth and fall of Enron, through a range of interviews with former employees, their families, analysts, reporters and attorneys. It begins with a portrayal of the suicide of Cliff Baxter, an Enron employee, after the company was declared bankrupt, and introduces the three main questions that this documentary sets out to answer – what happened, who was responsible and what can be done to prevent it happening again? From here, the ‘smart guys’ are presented: Enron chairman and founder Ken Lay, CEO Jeffrey Skilling and CFO Andrew Fastow, and the stories behind each of their roles in this fascinating white-collar crime saga.

Enron's size and power was created in part by taking advantage of a government with a propensity to deregulate the energy market, and by obtaining mark-to-market accounting treatment, with the backing of both accounting firm Arthur Andersen and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This allowed the company to book future profits on the day that a deal was signed; irrespective of the actual earnings. This documentary goes on to explain some of the other shocking methods which Enron executives and staff used to inflate their balance sheets, from building a power plant in India, where the people were too poor to afford the electricity generated, to creating California's energy shortage by asking power plants to shut down temporarily, which sent energy prices soaring. Amongst all this criminal activity, we also get an insight into Enron's culture; definitely a case of work hard, play harder, with a history of macho risk-taking and adrenalin-sport jaunts.

Considering some viewers may not have a strong business knowledge, the clear and concise narration by Peter Coyote takes the opportunity to explain some of the more technical aspects of the situation. The script is littered throughout with interesting facts and figures and for fans of anti-establishment documentaries this is a must-see!

Alex Coe