Horns and Halos

A tragic but fascinating story about one man's hope, disillusionment, and downfall in the world of perception-driven media, filmmakers Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky's documentary Horns and Halos is about author James Hatfield, who in the late 1990s wrote Fortunate Son, a critical biography of George W. Bush that alleged, among other things, that the U.S. president used cocaine in the 1970s (Kitty Kelley also claims Bush used cocaine in her new bestselling profile The Family). Publisher St. Martin's Press fast-tracked the book, giving Hatfield much more of a boost than he received from his usual celebrity bios, but soon after Fortunate Son hit bookstore shelves, word spread that the author had once done prison time for conspiracy to commit murder. St. Martin's recalled the first printing, and tiny Soft Skull Press attempted to revive the project and support Hatfield's credibility. Horns and Halos follows the story of Soft Skull's wobbly partnership with an increasingly desperate Hatfield, as well as the passions of the company's young, Mohawk-topped publisher, Sander Hicks. Lots of despair and roller-coaster emotions are on display, but nothing quite prepares the viewer for the film's ending. A wealth of DVD extras on this double-disc set help flesh out the full story, including directors' commentary, deleted scenes, interviews with Hatfield, featurettes, and archival footage of protests at Bush's inauguration. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)