Taking Chance is “austerely nonpolitical,” writes Hollywood & Fine’s Marshall Fine. “It’s [a movie] about honoring one man’s sacrifice, without getting into polemics of any sort. It’s about the shared humanity of everyone Chance Phelps’ encounters on his last ride home and its impact on his escort, played with understated anguish and strength by Kevin Bacon. I haven’t been this moved by a film in a long, long time.”

The fact that Fine, a very shrewd critic, swallowed the bait and wound up calling Taking Chance “nonpolitical” shows you how sly and tricky Ross Katz‘s film really is. It may be one of the most inspired con jobs of all time in the way it walks, talks and acts apolitical…and yet deep down, it’s a film that will warm the cockles of Dick Cheney‘s heart. Taking Chance is about simple sadness and dignity in the same way that Scientologists offering free stress tests are just trying to make your day go a little smoother.