Weiner **** (2016, Anthony Weiner) – Movie Review

Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s incredibly meticulous and painstaking documentary is a brilliant examination of the story behind disgraced New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner’s campaign to be elected the city’s Mayor. The documentary won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2016 as a ‘fast paced verité film that unfolds like a modern Shakespearean tragedy.’

As Weiner is hit hard by a sexting scandal, which turns out to involve the 23-year-old Sydney Leathers, he drops from favourite to last in the polls. But he’s desperate to carry on, begging for a second chance, when the media knives are out to kill him. And Sydney’s got her knife out for him too, stepping out to reveal that she was his sexting partner right bang in the middle of Weiner’s campaign for Mayor of NYC.

Strangely, the man allows the camera crew follow him around for a year and film almost all of his troubles. Even more strangely, he carries on sexting while running for Mayor. He’s a classic example of a brilliant but attention-seeking, tragic, self-destructive character. What an infuriating idiot the man is! He has all it takes but he just throws it all away.

If he appeared to be just a tiny bit nicer to his inexplicably loyal wife, Huma Abedin, you would have to feel sorry for him. And perhaps just a tiny bit nicer to Barbara Morgan, his loyal communications director, too.

I can’t think of any way the film could hardly be any better, or more entertaining. It’s a tragedy but it’s also very funny in places. It’s a great story, impressively told.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Movie Review

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