Based on the book by “rogue economist” Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner, this four-part documentary makes the case that answers to social and moral dilemmas might be discovered by looking at the world just a bit askew, “asking a different kind of question entirely.” Each section offers a variation on this idea. Morgan Spurlock’s “A Roshanda by Any Other Name” pretty much repeats the book’s point, that baby names don’t affect children’s lives, but their environments do. Folks-on-the-street interviews weigh in on how names resonate (“Todd” sounds white and “Tyrone” sounds black), but don’t offer much insight into their own experiences with names. Alex Gibney’s “Pure Corruption” is less a transcription of the book than a frankly remarkable set of images and ideas inspired by it. He draws parallels between Japanese sumo wrestling and the U.S. economic crisis, as each realm is beset by cheating that’s condoned in order to maintain a functioning (if dysfunctional) surface. “Cultural slogans,” he narrates, “reassure us that we are honest, straightforward and fundamentally good. Those who expose corruption are challenging the very nature of who we imagine ourselves to be.” Eugene Jarecki’s section takes on the book’s theory that there’s a correlation between legal abortion and reduced crime rates. “It’s Not Always a Wonderful Life” uses animation, clips from Frank Capra’s movie, and photos of the executed Nicolae Ceausescu (who outlawed abortion in Romania) to make this controversial argument accessible (and no, Levitt insists, he is not advocating abortion as a way to curb crime). Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s section is not drawn directly from the book, but is instead a fascinating study of how monetary incentives affect two ninth-graders in Chicago. As each plainly performs for the camera crew, both remind you that “incentives,” this section’s topic, can come in many forms and have unanticipated effects. The film reflects the book’s structure and makes its arguments visually, often vividly. In itself, it asks a different sort of question, regarding what documentaries can do. —Cindy Fuchs

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