At the 2008 Republican National Convention, David McKay and Brad Crowder were arrested for possessing incendiary devices they intended to lob at Secret Service agents and delegates. Was the apprehension of these young “left wing terrorists” an FBI success story or yet another example of post-9/11 hysteria? Going beyond an interrogation of the war on terror, Better This World is an utterly compelling yarn. It plays like a taut Hollywood legal thriller, exploring how two average boys from Bush’s own Midland, Texas, could get mixed up with a group of naïve monkeywrenchers goaded on by an alpha-male straight out of Fight Club, only to find themselves arrested and tried alone. The film’s deft management of the story’s shocking twists and turns keeps the audience on edge and persistently ups the ante on the political implications of the case.  TW