In the press, Anthony Weiner’s real failing was not just being the butt of a sex scandal or an obviously smutty pun, but for a failure of trust. He had gotten caught sending sexually explicit photos to other women, resigned from Congress, apologized, and then got caught again. Lawrence O’Donnell asked him flat out on MSNBC, “What’s wrong with you?” He had shown repeated acts of poor judgment, and his combative presence in the media and with the public belied that of a man who could not control himself.
But honesty was never really his issue. In the scathing and often hilarious new documentary “Weiner,” the curtain gets pulled back to show that Anthony Weiner absolutely gets it and knows how wrong he is, but paints a portrait of a man unable to stop. It’s a film about the media and about compulsion, about a need not just for attention but for vindication. Directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg reveal that for all of his smarts, all of his charisma, Weiner seems to seek out conflict and controversy and brings everyone around him down with the ship. Continue reading “Weiner”