Viewers looking for inspiration in dark times will find it in “Seized,” which is not just a tribute to the power of journalism and the persistence of civil determination, but a masterclass in storytelling structure. Director Sharon Liese fully understands that no one can resist a great tale, properly told. So “Seized” is by turns infuriating and encouraging, but also consistently entertaining.
Her documentary begins on Aug. 11, 2023, in Marion, Kansas (population 1,890). The local newspaper has long been owned and run by the mother-son team of Joan and Eric Meyer, and they’ve recently been looking into a range of accusations against police chief Gideon Cody. One startling morning, a band of imposing police officers arrives at their home and office to grab their electronics, documents, files and equipment. Both Meyers are outraged and push back furiously; as Joan says, “I may be ninety-something years old, but I know what’s going on, and it’s illegal as hell.”
Tragically, Joan — who seems as healthy as any 98-year-old can be — dies the next day. Rather than being undone by his grief, Eric uses it as motivation. His mother, he believes, died from the stress of an illegal invasion, as a martyr for the press. He is determined not only to understand the layers of corruption that led to this moment, but to expose them. It would be an understatement, however, to note that this will be a massive challenge.
The Marion County Record, which was founded in 1869, is so small-town that the staff still folds every weekly issue by hand. Their tiny team seems to include about four people — including apprentice journalist Finn Hartnett, a native New Yorker and recent college grad who often can’t seem to understand how he wound up in such a surreal situation.
There’s also Mayor Mike Powers, who is clearly hoping to use the film to do some damage control. Early on, he calls this whole scenario “a perfect storm of little bitty things.” But what Liese and Meyer actually show us is a tornado of incompetence, moral weakness and distortion — much of which involves people like Mayor Mike working overtime to brush problems under the rug, rather than face them head-on.
Marion is farm country, and the kind of place where marchers throw candy to the kids during the annual Settler’s Day parade. The citizens want a peaceful life, and plenty of them openly resent Meyer’s refusal to allow it.
We can even see why so many might agree with Eric when he calls himself “a stubborn son of a bitch.” He doesn’t care about making friends, and he doesn’t even always make the most rational choices. His integrity is remarkable, but so is his obstinance. There are some great scenes with Finn, in particular, who tries to bring a lighter touch to Eric’s hard-charging, old-school approach.
But the footage Liese uses is entirely modern: she and editor Derek Boonstra have done an exemplary job piecing together recordings from body-cam, surveillance, and wireless tech imagery. Though there’s a little too much jumping around between timelines, they are determined to — as a Journalism 101 professor might advise — show rather than tell. (Nicholas Semrad’s charmingly jaunty score goes a long way towards balancing serious issues with an entertaining approach.)
“Seized” is carefully even-handed, and everyone is treated with full fairness; in a departure from so many contemporary documentaries, this one genuinely wants us to make up our own minds. Nevertheless, there is an undeniable message here: an unyielding barricade has the ability to hold even considerable corruption at bay.
As Joan says during the raid, “I don’t understand how good people can let this stuff go on. Nazi stuff! A bunch of bullies.” But she also reminds the police: “Newspapers have got power, too.”
“Seized” premiered at Sundance the same week reports alleged that Jeff Bezos was planning major newsroom cuts at the Washington Post, while also spending around $75 million on the Melania Trump documentary “Melania,” through Amazon. And small cities and towns like Marion have lost thousands of newspapers in recent years.
Still, individual journalists and nonprofit organizations like the American Journalism Project are working hard to rebuild that bulwark. As long as there are reporters unswervingly committed to their work, communities like Marion can rely on protections they may not even know they need.
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