WEINER (2016)

10/17/2016 - Weiner (2016) - 8-/10

Perfect timing and an insatiable subject. It's funny, captivating, and cringe worthy. That feeling of embarrassment and uncomfortableness for others saturates this whole film. This is a fascinating examination of a narcissist and a political scandal, all with too-close-for-comfort access and impeccable timing.

It does feel as though there was more interaction with the film crew than I would have expected or wanted. Too pointed and poking at times. The fact that this story got so much darker after the documentary is too bad, especially with the manipulation the documentarians use to form our opinions about the protagonist. There is too much of a positive tinged light shining on Weiner from the get go, but it could be argued this was done to highlight his fall from grace… I think they call it a “dramatic arc” (Who am I arguing with?).

No matter your feelings and despite its possible documentarian flaws, this is a well shot, smartly edited, and intensely interesting doc. A fine example of the genre.