Girls State was my favorite documentary of Sundance 2024, and I firmly believe that its predecessor, Boys State, is one of the best films Apple TV+ has to offer. Through them, it was clear to see that directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine had a talent for identifying fascinating, inspiring subjects — particularly young ones — and presenting them in compelling and compassionate ways. Needless to say, I had high hopes going into Middletown and am thrilled to report that they have managed a three-peat. There’s no better team in the coming-of-age documentary game right now — and very few on their level in the documentary space in general.
What is ‘Middletown’ About?
“What if it’s toxic?” someone asks in the opening scene of Middletown as they step into a local river. It’s meant as a joke, but the audience will soon discover there’s a chilling irony in it. Taking place in a New York suburb — just 90 minutes north of the Big Apple — Middletown tells the story of an Electronic English class taught by Fred Isseks. He’s the cool teacher; the one mocked by fellow staff for being too lax but beloved by his students for treating them like equals. Tasked with teaching an elective that integrates making films into the curriculum, Isseks decides to assign a journalism project — one that will change everything.
Though initially skeptical, as most teenagers are, his students ultimately agree to help him document his own subject of interest: puddles of strange, nasty water appearing all over the city connected to the dump. Their investigation has them doing everything from trespassing into a landfill to interviewing professional journalists and politicians on the high school’s television station. As more time goes on, the students become more passionate about what they’re doing — and more and more secrets and lies are discovered, with powerful people doing everything to keep the truth from being exposed by this group of kids.
‘Middletown’s Focus on Corruption and Environmentalism Makes It More Relevant Than Ever
The events of Middletown are so wild that if you told someone the synopsis, there’s a good chance they’d assume it’s a fictional story. This is in no small part due to the larger-than-life characters that pop up. The list of students who were heavily involved in Issek’s class almost feels like the gang of characters in The Breakfast Club: a jock who’s also a stoner, a punk, an ROTC kid, and an outsider who floats among social groups. Then you have Isseks, a quirky father figure, and state pathologist Ward Stone, who’s like a crotchety uncle. By the time an eccentric whistleblower and wannabe actor by the name of Mr. D enters the mix, you almost think things can’t get any more bizarre.
And yet they do. Every good story has a villain, and Middletown has plenty of those, too, though the real big bad is the system they all work for. There’s Gary Grossman, a condescending and feckless journalist at the local paper who talks down to the students; police who try to keep our group out of the landfill and confiscate water samples; and a myriad of greedy politicians who are connected to — wait for it — organized crime. Yes, there’s a mafia presence in this story.
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This movie will make you see trash in a whole new light — not as something inconsequential but rather as the big business it really is, not to mention the danger it can become if it’s not handled right. What you’ll find less surprising is the fact that so many politicians can be driven by greed to do some shade business. In this day and age, it’s never been more pertinent — especially considering its overlap with the poor handling of the environment. Citizens are getting sick from contaminated water, but instead of investigating and cleaning up the landfill properly, the government opts for a band-aid fix in a very literal sense. All of this would have gone unnoticed if not for the courage and persistence of Isseks and his students, highlighting the importance of paying attention to and caring for the environment and demanding truth and transparency from the people in charge.
‘Middletown’ Shows Just How Incredible Teens and Teachers Can Be
The environmental and political aspects of Middletown are engaging and crucial, yet they feel secondary to the remarkable students and teacher the documentary follows. Though they couldn’t be more different, the students’ shared interest in the project has them forming friendships where they share inside jokes, fight against the system, and hook up in the control room. It’s an absolute delight watching them play off each other, free and totally themselves as they irreverently curse into the camera and lovingly make fun of one another. It’s just as affecting to watch them grill adults in positions of power and hold them accountable. Though many of the kids are clearly awkward and nervous by the setup, they’re extremely competent and brave — excellent young journalists asking hard-hitting questions that need answers. Moss and McBaine do a phenomenal job of combining their raw and gritty firsthand footage with the more polished confessionals of the present day.
And boy, is it a treat to watch them in the present day, particularly when they reflect on the impact Isseks had on them and the emotions they get when walking into a recreation of their Electronic English classroom. Many of them remember being rebellious students who skipped most of their classes but were always eager to show up to his. All of them discuss the confidence, self-esteem, and power they felt when Isseks encouraged them to make their voices heard and opinions known. The fact that one of them went on to become a TV director and another is a successful cinematographer is proof of Isseks’ professional influence in addition to his personal one.
“Garbage is gold,” one of Middletown’s subjects says of the lucrativeness of the business. It certainly is in this documentary, too. Middletown is proof that kids are a lot savvier and smarter than they’re often given credit for and that a good teacher who pushes and cares can quite literally change a student’s life forever. Riveting without ever feeling sensationalized and moving without being saccharine, Middletown is a captivating tale that combines elements of true crime and coming-of-age stories and proves, once again, that Moss and McBaine are two of the most talented documentarians working today.
Middletown premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Middletown
Middletown is a riveting, relevant documentary that shows the power of youth, civic involvement, and engaged teachers.
- Release Date
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January 28, 2025
- Runtime
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113 Minutes
- Director
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Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
- Middletown?s story is engaging from start to finish, with an intriguing central mystery and compelling subjects.
- Directors Moss and McBaine seamlessly combine ?90s archival footage with modern-day interviews.
- The film?s tone is pitch-perfect ? inspiring without being saccharine and gripping while keeping its grounded authenticity.
