“Libby, Montana”
The Western News, March 5, 2004
by Roger Morris

Drury Gunn Carr and Doug Hawes-Davis deserve a round of applause for their documentary LIBBY, MONTANA.  The two filmmakers screened the finished product at the Dome theater on Wednesday night. It does an excellent job of chronicling the Libby asbestos problem through the beginning of the home cleanups.  Before the film, Carr said, “We made as honest a film as we thought we could make.”  Gentlemen, you succeeded. The documentary is long—nearly two and half hours. But it accurately tells the tale of Libby with an introduction that mixes the home movies of local families with industry fluff pieces about mining and logging in northwest Montana. That eventually segues into the asbestos story we are all too familiar with and not quite comfortable hearing and seeing.  Overall, it paints a picture of Libby as a loving, caring family town where something went amiss. The local photography paints a beautiful picture of the area and toward the end, Peronard is shown and heard saying that Libby was as safe as any other community in the country as long as you stay away from the hot spots—which the EPA has been or has cleaned. Again, good job to documentarians who made an “honest” film.