FOR THE LOVE OF RUTLAND explores the complex life of a blue-collar New England town as a partial microcosm/mirror of our current national and global reality. An attempt to bring new life to an economically struggling and overwhelmingly white community – through refugee resettlement – unleashes deep partisan rancor and opens new fissures within the city’s small population of 15,000. Stacie, after a lifetime of being invalidated and shamed for her poverty and addiction, emerges as an unexpected and resilient leader in a town divided by class, cultural values, and the toxic politics of today.
The film explores the forces racking much of post-industrial and rural America – including income inequality, the opioid epidemic, falling populations, xenophobia, and the normalization of “white rage.” But FOR THE LOVE OF RUTLAND also uncovers passionate civic engagement, intense love of home, and the stories of ordinary people who become extraordinary in their desire to think and feel for themselves.