Weiner

Directors: Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg

I belong to a film club that meets once a month to watch an advance screening of a forthcoming flick. We never know what the film will be prior to showtime, which always lends a delicious air of mystery to the proceedings. At our recent gathering, we saw directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's new documentary Weiner; a behind the scenes film of former Congressman Anthony Weiner's ill-fated, 2013 New York City Mayoral campaign for the democratic primary. For those who may not remember or have ever heard of the former Congressman, Weiner is notorious for posting photos of his junk on Twitter in 2011. Though he initially denied the posting, he eventually admitted to his indiscretion. Weiner subsequently resigned from Congress.

Having learned what we were to see, I winced; feeling I didn't care to revisit what most New York residents, including myself, had been force-fed by the media at the time. But after seeing Kriegman and Steinberg's ruthlessly candid documentary, I realized their film has achieved something rare in documentary cinema. Having both served as Weiner's former staff members, the directors were granted fly-on-the-wall access to his life and campaign during the notorious 2013 campaign. A politician granting filmmakers nearly unrestricted freedom is virtually unheard of in documentaries and a viewer may wonder after watching the revealing film why Weiner would have consented to something beyond his control. In Weiner, we see how the former congressman's sordid blunders from his past resurface, only to leave his mayoral campaign in ruins. But in the film, we come to understand how his fall from political viability to disgrace and pariahdom affected not only himself and his campaign but his staff, constituents and most notably his wife; Huma Abedin; one-time aide and Deputy Chief of Staff to Hillary Clinton.

The film begins in the early phase of Weiner's campaign as early poll numbers show a healthy lead. We get the sense that his constituents and the New York voters have overlooked the Twitter incident that scuttled his congressional career and are ready to forgive. We meet his staff and his wife Huma, who plays an active role in his campaign; serving as advisor, counsel and conscience--all in an unofficial capacity. We learn early on that Bill Clinton officiated at his wedding and that Huma bravely stood by her husband at his darkest hour. And though the Weiner is the film's cynosure, Huma's own political ambitions hover about the campaign as a position on Hillary's presidential campaign looms in her future.

One can't help but be astounded at how Kriegman and Steinberg's cameras are allowed to operate in sensitive areas, such as his war room and his home. Their film captures all the anxieties of the campaign; intense media scrutiny, never-ending speeches and endless appearances.

Weiner's story and the documentary take a dramatic turn as a more damning indiscretion comes to light. Another Tweet, posted after Weiner resigned from Congress, is unearthed. The photo of Weiner, showing him nude from the waist down, is made public and seized by the media. The recipient of the photo; a woman named Sydney Leathers, becomes a sordid character of interest and another major embarrassment to Weiner and his campaign. The camera not only records Weiner's humiliation as he presses on with his campaign but more poignantly, Huma's disgust as the strain of another scandal begins its assault.

One of the film's more powerful scenes takes place in a hotel room as Weiner apologizes to the angry and bewildered members of his inner circle. For a filmmaker, this is a priceless moment; the emotions are raw and no one is very aware of the camera; every response and comment is unguarded. The staff is naturally angry, as is Huma, who tells the PR manager to smile when she leaves the building to deflect questions from the press.

We see some of the media fallout as Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart mock and deride Weiner, while news T.V. offers endless commentary and analysis. We also see what Weiner is subjected to in the streets as a patron in what looks like a Jewish bakery calls the mayoral candidate on his behavior, which leads to an angry exchange captured on video. The verbal melee becomes more fodder for the media, who spin the incident into a Weiner meltdown.

Potential for further catastrophe follows when Weiner's staff learns Sydney Leathers is waiting outside the building where he is to give his concession speech. We watch as his staff's plan to avoid her plays like a sequence from a thriller.

Interspersed throughout the film are doleful comments made by Weiner as he sits by himself in a room; reflecting on his campaign. Too bad Huma's thoughts and reflections aren't included; her comments would have been priceless.

Though Weiner's scandals became catnip for online T.V. satire, there is nothing funny about Weiner's political collapse, as the film effectively demonstrates. It is particularly heartbreaking to see older footage of Weiner in action on Capitol Hill; his feisty resolve and aggressiveness in the face of congressional opposition show a politician with conviction and passion.

Watching the documentary, one can't help but feel social media was really the agent of his downfall. Twitter's dangers and thrills must have been irresistible to him, which leaves one wondering how an intelligent man was unable to avoid its pitfalls. Twitter was no less alluring to his femme fatale; Sydney Leathers. One also comes away from the film feeling mostly revulsion for the media; how it behaves like a circling herd of rabid scavengers; waiting to pounce on the weak and vulnerable. We see Leathers appearance on Howard Stern; how the shock-jock prods the young girl to seek out Weiner for his and his audience's amusement.

The audience I watched the film with had varied reactions to Weiner's comportment during the campaign. Some felt his narcissism was his most salient quality (what politician isn't narcissistic--to some degree?), others thought he seemed blithely unconcerned about the effects of the scandal on his wife. I can definitely see that. Most seemed unsympathetic but one reaction that seemed universal was the pity felt for Huma. It is safe to say no one endured more humiliation and pain Weiner's wife. The numerous shots of her expressions; pain, mortification and weariness all tell a story of their own.

As for Weiner's psychology, we can only surmise; the film observes, it doesn't analyze. What makes a man commit self-destructive acts--twice? Showing off his endowment is obviously a power thing for Weiner, but if it ruined his career on Capitol Hill, why did he jeopardize his political career further after his resignation?

A promising political career in tatters and captured on film, no less. One of the directors asked Weiner why he would allow someone to film he and his campaign? His response: I don't know. The audience may feel as puzzled.

Weiner isn't an easy film to watch; it doesn't invite ridicule and mockery but pity for a troubled politician. The film's greatest lesson? There are some body parts that should remain buried under fabric--and off of Twitter.