During the 2013 New York City municipal
primary, Democrats faced the surreal prospect of nominating Anthony Weiner for
mayor and Eliot “Client 9” Spitzer for comptroller. Ultimately, neither
political comeback came to pass, but the spectacle of Weiner’s implosion will
be hard to live down. Josh Kriegman & Elyse Steinberg documented it all,
fly-on-the-wall style in Weiner, which screens during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
We all know the essentials: Anthony
Weiner, sexting, “Carlos Danger,” and his femme fatale, Sydney Leathers. Kriegman
& Steinberg start their film after the first wave of scandal had subsided.
They give nutshell recap of Sexting Part 1, including Weiner’s admitted lie
that his Twitter account had been hacked, but they neglect to mention the late
Andrew Breitbart’s role saving the infamous tweets and holding Weiner
accountable.
Regardless, Weiner is tanned, rested, and
ready to run for mayor with the blessing of his wife, Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Initially, Weiner was riding high in the polls, until the second sexting shoe
dropped. That would be Leathers, the media-chasing future porn star. It was really a time
line issue that he handled remarkably badly.
Somehow, Kriegman & Steinberg’s
footage humanizes and damns Weiner simultaneously. There is no question the
press opted for the low road at every juncture. It is impossible not to
sympathize with him, especially when we see him doting on his young son.
Nevertheless, the once-and-future power couple’s ill-concealed ambition is
somewhat unseemly. More problematic, it becomes obvious in the third act Weiner
lost track of which lies he told, forcing him to have grossly embarrassing
conversations with his staff in order to reconcile his latest statements with
past claims. Clearly, just telling the truth was no longer an option.
Arguably, Kriegman & Steinberg sort of
bury the lede when they leave reports of a Hilary ultimatum forcing Abedin to
choose between her husband and her role in the Clinton presidential campaign
dangling unresolved. However, Abedin’s subsequent disengagement from Weiner’s
campaign certainly makes you wonder.
