Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Documentary featuring a jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes look at the attempted comeback of Anthony Weiner in 2013 as he mounts a campaign for New York City mayor in the wake of his sexting scandal. Featuring unfettered access to the candidate and his campaign.
Weiner is a remarkable fly-on-the-wall documentary that almost defies belief — the filmmakers captured a political self-immolation in real time as a second sexting scandal erupts mid-campaign. The plot (really unfolding reality) is jaw-dropping in its dramatic arc, earning a genuine 4. The novelty is exceptional: few documentaries have ever had this level of access to a subject who simultaneously implodes before the camera, creating an almost Shakespearean tragicomedy unique in political filmmaking. The ending, with Weiner's election-night humiliation and the haunting final shot of Huma Abedin, is genuinely devastating and memorable. Cinematography is competent verité work — functional and intimate but not artistically distinguished. Acting is not really applicable in the traditional sense; the real figures perform themselves, some (like Weiner's campaign manager) compellingly, but it remains a documentary without scripted performance to evaluate highly.