Its only with a sense of awe at Anthony Weiner’s irrepressible wit that one can sit through the documentary directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, at the very end of which Weiner is asked why he has let them film all of this. Weiner looks lost in thought for a moment, before he shrugs and admits that he has been hoping for the best.
The sexting scandals that rocked this American politician’s career forms the backdrop of this gripping documentary that follows Weiner as he launches his campaign for the New York Mayor election in 2013. This isn’t an easy thing for him, as he proclaims at the City island speech, and yet here is a man who simply refuses to quit.
What makes this film incredibly sad is the way his wife Huma Abedin grapples with a scandal and its continuous repercussions that threaten to rip her marriage apart. For the most part, she remains an epitome of poise, even as the media has a field day with assumptions on how efficient she has been at holding on. ‘Weiner’ is a personal journey into the mind of a man who admits that he has made some terrible mistakes in the past, and hopes amidst mounting skepticism that he can do better, even as his campaign heads straight into the disaster zone. As they say, some mistakes, simply cannot be undone.
Verdict: Must-Watch