This isn’t an especially notable documentary but it is extra relevant considering how prominent American politics are this year. Anthony Weiner isn’t an especially prominent politician on a global basis but he was considered a popular and up and coming Democrat until his career was derailed by a sexting scandal. This documentary covers his attempt to revive his career by running for mayor of New York City in 2013.

Two years after resigning from Congress, Weiner asks the voters of New York to give him a second chance. He allows filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg to follow him around to make this documentary, though it isn’t clear what his rationale is. He does well at the beginning, polling near the top of the list and his wife Huma Abedin appears next to him on campaign events to speak on his behalf. The film follows him as he sets up his campaign office and goes to many different events to speak. His opponents try to raise the scandal but voters boo them and seem inclined to forgive him. But when it emerges that Weiner has continued with the sexting even after apologizing for it and resigning from Congress, his fortunes abruptly change. His poll numbers drop and he becomes the subject of mockery wherever he goes and the scandal becomes the only subject everyone wants to talk to him about.

What makes this documentary so extraordinary is how much access Weiner gave the filmmakers. There are scenes in which he sends everyone outside of the room to think or to discuss something with his wife but continues to allow the camera operator to roll. This means that the film manages to catch Weiner at plenty of unflattering moments such as when he comes across as being incredibly calculative about how to respond to questions without compromising himself. It’s truly a wonder that Weiner allowed such takes to be included in the final cut. At the same time, the film does also include scenes of Weiner at his best. In one rally for example when Weiner is challenged by a member of audience, he manages to give an impressive reply that it’s okay for that person not to vote for him, but it’s not okay for that person to deprive others of the right to make up their own minds. This makes Weiner an unusually well rounded portrait of a public figure.

Unfortunately for the man himself, this documentary proves though he has decent skills as a campaigner and may even genuinely care for the causes he espouses, his temperament and psychological quirks make him unsuitable for public office. When he does lose his temper and tells off hecklers, he reviews the footage with glee and seems to think it makes him look good while the people around look like they want to back away from a visibly crazy person. As the scandal unfolds it becomes clear to everyone that he is addicted to sexting and needs psychological counselling over it but he seems to be unable to face the problem honestly. To his credit, Weiner seems self aware of it to some extent, citing even the story of the scorpion and the frog. As he says himself, perhaps politicians inherently need to be people who seek and love attention and this can all too easily go wrong. On a wider scale, this perfectly encapsulates how many people have trouble with coming to terms with the fact that online interactions are real interactions with real people at the other end, even if you’ve never met them.

To me, this documentary is also educational in how it records the routines of an American politician and what goes on during a campaign. There are the expected interviews and rallies with plenty of flesh pressing and baby kissing but there are also more authentically human moments such as when Weiner has to cajole his wife to call her network of contacts to raise money or when he hurriedly grabs lunch in his chauffeured car in between events and scarfs down every bite. The filmmakers do a wonderful job of capturing all this, down to the subtleties of Abedin gradually becoming more wary of being associated with Weiner as his prospects dim and his closest staff being visibly disappointed in him for not telling them the complete truth.

All in all, this is an interesting historical record and an even more fascinating portrait of a man who is clearly ambitious and intelligent but possessed of psychological flaws on so fundamental a level that he has trouble admitting to them. The camera operator himself says it all when he comments that Weiner seems to have a lot of trouble talking about his feelings and Weiner’s withering response is that being a fly-on-the-wall videographer means keeping your silence.