Freakonomics is the highly anticipated adaptation of the phenomenally bestselling book about incentives-based thinking by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The film examines human behaviour through consistently provocative and often hilarious case studies, bringing together a dream team of filmmakers responsible for some of the most acclaimed and entertaining documentaries in recent years.
The field of economics can study more than the workings of economies or businesses, it can also help explore human behavior in how it reacts to incentives. Economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner host an anthology of documentaries that examines how people react to opportunities to gain, wittingly or otherwise. The subjects include the possible role a person's name has for their success in life, why there is so much cheating in an honor bound sport like sumo wrestling, what helped reduce crime in the USA in the 1990s onward and we follow an school experiment to see if cash prizes can encourage struggling students to improve academically.
Freakonomics Movie Reviews
“A crazily entertaining, tantalizing eye-opener.” NEW YORK POST
“There is more material here to chew on than in a dozen other documentaries combined. AUSTIN CHRONICLE
”(T)his frisky adaptation of the Steven Levitt-Stephen Dubner bestseller on human behavior by the numbers adds up to a revelatory trip into complex, innovative ideas and altered perspectives on how people think. There's little in FREAKONOMICS that isn't provocative, compelling or slightly perverse.“VARIETY
”(N)ot only endlessly fascinating, but also immensely entertaining. (I)t would be impossible for any casual movie-goer to be bored by this film. FREAKONOMICS is interesting, engaging, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and, simply, a fantastic documentary.“ CINEMABLEND
"Seldom do documentaries set out in honest pursuit of hidden truths, but FREAKONOMICS, a film based on the delightful best seller, is an invigorating and surprising journey.”*NEW YORK POST
*“…well worth dipping into.” TIME MAGAZINE
*“…excel(s) at decoding real-world complexity.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
*“There aren?t any weak links in the lineup, which makes it a varied and involving piece.” HUFFINGTON POST