Overburden

Assessing the ruinous legacy of dangerous coal mining in West Virginia, filmmaker Chad Stevens' Overburden chronicles the efforts of grassroots activists to salvage their state from the even more drastic and devastating "mountaintop removal" method of coal extraction. Miner's widow Betty Harrah joins a push to spare endangered mountains, championing the alternative of sustainable, wind-driven electrical turbine arrays (with the ultimate aim of weaning the state off the dwindling coal production that still serves as the territory's economic basis and main employer). Lorelei Scarboro, whose family also relies on mining earnings, is initially on the pro-coal side, but tragedy makes allies of the women. The drive is to publicly expose powerful coal corporation Massey Energy and its CEO Don Blankenship, who is accused of ignoring safety for profit (Blankenship was convicted in early December 2015 of conspiring to violate mine safety rules in a 2010 WV disaster that resulted in the death of 29 miners). Telling a powerful story that will remind some viewers of Barbara Kopple's Oscar-winning 1976 documentary Harlan County U.S.A., this fine film mixes gripping personal stories with a look at a larger socioeconomic issue. Extras include bonus featurettes on mountaintop removal, and a music video meditation on the beauty of West Virginia's imperiled mountains. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)