Ben Oliver

Now
Banner image for Weiner
film

Weiner

It was a really big blind spot.
19 August 2016

A fly-on-the-wall documentary following disgraced US Congressman Anthony Weiner’s campaign to become mayor of New York.

In case you are not familiar with the story, Anthony Weiner was involved in a sexting scandal that started with him posting a dick pic to his public Twitter account by mistake. The documentary kicks off a couple of years later, as his mayoral campaign takes off in spite of his reputation.

Then, as if the film making gods were smiling down upon us, another scandal breaks out as they are shooting the film. You get to see a career unravel in real time from the perspective of the person at the centre of the shit sandwich.

The whole thing is made more spectacular by the fact that Weiner is married to Huma Abedin - Hillary Clinton’s senior aide. Arguably the most interesting parts of the film are watching her standing in the sidelines, incredulous.

In terms of raw footage, this has to be one of the greatest documentaries ever made. It’s pure gold. The story seems to just tell itself, and so much crazy shit happens that I just sat there, mouth agape, not quite able to believe what I was seeing. One of the best films of the year.