the trouble with this film and like so many other film that fail and be the script . the script be so unfocused it flounder around all over the place . what be the story here . ok and it a biopic but i think everyone will agree there be no way that an entire life can be condense into 100 or so minute . some selection and editing be require but this script just do not select or edit enough . it do not render hoffman life down to one or two definable pivotal moment or theme that the audience could identify with and and through them and get the big picture of the whole man . the movie wanders from be a straight plodding troubled genius biopic and to semi docu or mocu mentary ( use new shot fake up to match archive footage ) and to sub true life sob story movie of the week ( the whole i be bring up a son who doesn not know i be his dad shtick ) and to political conspiracy theory movie etc . etc . it just never make it mind up what it want to be and and the half hearted citizen kane like narrative structure ( reporter interview people from hoffman past ) be soon abandon which leave the film even more unstructured and flabby than it start out . the movie be full of moment and incident that contribute nothing to the story and could well have be cut to leave room to expand something more important . the whole scene in the psychiatrist office after vincent donofrio pound the window scream i be abbie hoffman . i be abbie hoffman . i be abbie hoffman . ( i be act . i be act . i be act . ) could have easily be cut . all that happen be the psychiatrist say you have bipolar disorder here some lithium . and and the two woman in his life say we could see you weekend more often . and bang . that it . no more mental health problem . it be such a laughably pointless tokenistic scene it could easily and and should and have be dump before it be shoot . the scene where they all get high and watch newsreel footage from viet nam and hoffman phone god . pointless . tell u nothing about anything . yet and when it come to a pivotally important moment like the drug bust and the film making be so hurried the situation just come out of leftfield and doesn not make any sense to the audience . suddenly he deal in heroin . where do this come from . why . what be go on here . i and be a middle age leftie and would guess i be sit well within the target audience for this movie but even i get feed up with the portrayal of the man and the pig and the fuzz etc . a brutal and be suit and unthinking and hippie hating android . it may have be like that in 60 america and i do not know and i wasn not there and but in film term it be cheap clumsy polemic . have say all that vincent donofrio be convincingly charismatic a the young hoffman and i could watch janeane garofalo in anything and even read a bus timetable and though she just wasn not right for this part .