I loved the movie, although I don’t agree with its philosophy.

Or at least the black/white view of having principles. The world is not perfect, and there will always be exceptions and compromises to everything. For example, Ayn Rand herself collected Social Security even though she railed against the concept her entire life. That doesn’t make her a bad person (it would be cruel for her to subsist on a bare existence in her old age, and to be fair, she did pay into the program throughout her life). But while self-reliance might be nice in theory and we could be better as a society if everyone pulled themselves by their own bootstraps, it doesn’t quite work in practice.

I do agree that altruism taken to its logical extreme can be highly destructive. But that doesn’t mean that its direct opposite (self-interest and selfishness) taken to extremes is also healthy. It’s like we are told we must choose between Marx and Rand—both ideologies are wrong because they do not account for reality. Even Stalin implemented pay bonuses for workers who were more driven and productive. Morality and policies should always be balanced and realistic.

Roark is not a hero—he caused a lot of damage and could have potentially killed others for having done what he believed in. The movie would have been better if he had been punished for what he did, all the while Roark goes to prison as a martyr or political prisoner because he did what he believed was right (even though he is wrong).

But still, the movie is beautifully made. I understand that Ayn Rand herself wrote the script and not a single word was altered. Even if the dialogue lacks nuance or subtlety, there is a certain idealistic sincerity in how it is presented. What it lacks in logic or common sense at times, it more than makes up in terms of emotional and artistic power. The movie was quite engaging and the performances were very good.

(I typed this on my phone—please forgive any grammatical errors here)