SXSW Film Review: Whatever It Takes

Documentary Whatever It Takes achieves takeoff velocity in a hurry. Before the title credit pops up on the screen, we have the complete setup: A mild-mannered, middle-aged couple living in suburban Boston has started receiving anonymous threats online. Things escalate with creepy deliveries, and we’re off.

What makes this couple, Ina and David Steiner, unique is their day job. The two run a small but influential website covering the world of online auctions, mostly centered around eBay. This has somehow put them in the crosshairs of someone who doesn’t like their coverage and is willing to go to great lengths to get them to stop.

After the curse-filled messages, the packages arrive. A pig fetus from a scientific supply company. A funeral wreath. Most ominously, a book on grieving the loss of a spouse. The Steiners were shook.

Whatever It Takes is really two movies in one. The opening act details the disturbing effects of being terrorized by unknown forces. Then things shift in a big way, one that would normally be a spoiler, other than the fact that this story has made national news due to the identity of the culprits. (Still: Consider yourself warned for spoilers going forward.)

It turns out eBay itself had some bad actors willing to commit felonies in order to silence the Steiners. Throughout the documentary, the history of eBay is told as backstory. It’s a throwback to the early days of the web when some of the biggest tech names we know first came into being. With eBay, much of the story is about how people are generally good, and if we can connect them, great things will happen.

Eventually money and power bastardize this quaint ethos. The new CEO is facing great pressure from Wall Street to keep the profits rolling in. At the same time, eBay’s security team is taken over by unscrupulous characters who don’t recognize the boundaries of professionalism or even the law.

The story of how this all unfolds is told with great skill by director Jenny Carchman. Eventually, the FBI gets involved, and there’s a bit of police procedural at play. We also see how some of the stalkers are victims themselves. Ultimately, it’s a story of how true power insulates itself from the damage it causes, leaving victims in its wake.

Whatever It Takes is a must-see for true-crime aficionados, as well as those with a nostalgia for the dotcom past. It is both small-scale drama and corporate scandal. Like eBay itself, there’s a little something for everyone.

---

Whatever It Takes

Documentary Spotlight, World Premiere

Friday, March 15, 2:45pm, Alamo South Lamar

---

Catch up with all of The Austin Chronicle's SXSW 2024 coverage.