'Weiner': The protagonist of the documentary remains something of a cipher
Anthony Weiner, the fiery New York congressman and mayoral聽candidate whose career went down in flames after a series of sexting聽scandals, is the subject of 鈥淲einer,鈥� co-directed by Elyse Steinberg and聽Josh Kriegman. It would make a great double bill with 鈥淐lient 9: The Rise聽and Fall of Eliot Spitzer.鈥�
Kriegman worked for Weiner in 2005 and 2006, which probably聽explains why Weiner allowed the filmmakers extraordinary access to film聽his run for mayor in 2013. It is during this run that new sexting聽revelations, postdating Weiner鈥檚 previous mea culpas, emerged. Forging聽ahead despite widespread opprobrium and cratering polls, Weiner is a man聽obsessed 鈥� with his own ego. His wife, Huma Abedin, a close aide to聽Hillary Clinton, stands by her man but for most of the movie seems聽mightily aggrieved.
Despite the access Weiner provided the filmmakers, he remains聽something of a cipher. Not that too many people are hankering to know聽even more sordid details about this sordid affair. What鈥檚 clear is that many聽of Weiner鈥檚 supporters within the mayoral campaign stuck with him only聽because of Abedin鈥檚 connection to the Clintons. Hey, it鈥檚 politics.
Virtually missing is any record of the role that conservative muckraker聽Andrew Breitbart had in Weiner鈥檚 undoing. Given the film鈥檚 otherwise聽exemplary thoroughness, this exemption is especially odd. Grade:聽B (Rated R for language and some sexual material.)
