The Bp oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and a blood feud in Albania don’t seem to have much in common, but both play key roles in the documentary “Payback.’’ Based on Margaret Atwood’s book of the same name, writer-director Jennifer Baichwal’s film explores the complex issue of debt, both moral and financial. This includes BP’s failure to deal with its environmental transgressions, and the years-long dispute between two poor rural clans that keeps the members of one family virtual prisoners in their own home.
Also thrown into the mix are Conrad Black, the disgraced media mogul who went to prison for mail fraud, a tattooed Canadian man serving time for robbery and abused migrant tomato pickers in Florida. All are subjects worthy of discussion, but tackling them in one film disrupts the movie’s momentum and shortchanges viewers. Baichwal could have devoted a single film to just BP’s disgraceful behavior.