MIFF NOTES: Weiner (2016, Dirs. Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg)

Why did this trainwreck political campaign ever invite a camera crew into the fold? It's a question you'll be asking yourself within half an hour of Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's Weiner.

It's a question the subject of the documentary, Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner asks himself on camera before the film's conclusion. There were good intentions, no doubt. And the film makers must have been salivating at the offer. Weiner, whose run for mayor of NYC was meant to represent his political rebirth after his jock-bulging public tweet saw the end of his 12 year stint in the U.S. House of Reps, is a gratingly charismatic presence and certified scandal-magnet.

Not only that, he's a consummate politician. The thrill of Weiner is not the inherent Shadenfreaude but from the blustering pride before the fall, and the fact that his resurrection was so tantalisingly close.

Kriegman and Steinberg capitalise well on the universal aspects of Weiner's story - not all politicians text their penises to their constituents but the ups and downs of this story, especially the impact of the protagonist's actions on his family (wife and Democrat heavyweight Huma Abedin becomes a well-justified dramatic focus), are certainly transferrable. It is the film's boon that they hit here in a sensational, headline-hammering perfect storm of clusterfuckery.

Part comedy, part tragedy, Weiner has it all. More entertainment than most political feature films can muster. Go. See the system in action.

★★★★

Trailer:

Weiner screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.