The documentary concentrates on the swing state of Ohio, where Bush's victory in the state was considered to cost Kerry the election. It features interviews with both campaign officials and volunteers from both parties while analyzing the outcome of the election. ...So Goes the Nation heavily features Ohio's rural-urban political divide, and the corresponding cultural and moral issues that, according to the documentary, played a pivotal role in the election's outcome.
Synopsis
The documentary concentrates on the 2004 United States presidential election in the swing state of Ohio. The state was considered highly competitive, with both candidates attempting to win it. Due to Bush's victory in the state, Kerry conceded the election. It features interviews with both campaign officials, including the chairmen of both the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee, and volunteers from the Democratic and Republican parties while analyzing the outcome of the election. The political differences between Ohio's rural and urban communities, along with the cultural and moral differences and the impact on the electorate, are prominently covered in the film.
Production
County map of the 2004 election in Ohio.
Bush
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
Kerry
50–60%
60–70%
...So Goes the Nation was co-directed by Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern.[2] Two weeks before election day, following Kenneth Blackwell's, Ohio's Secretary of State, announcement about new rules regarding voter registration, Del Deo and Stern traveled across the state with the initial goal of documenting possible voter fraud in the 2004 presidential election. However, they instead decided to cover the Bush and Kerry campaigns.[3][2]
...So Goes the Nation was simultaneously released by IFC Films on October 4, 2006, on both cable television and in theatres.[2] The film was released in the lead up to the 2006 midterm elections.[6] Its theatrical run was limited to four theaters for less than a month. The film made $2,622 in its opening weekend and $10,337 overall.[7] On November 1, to promote the film Stern and Del Deo were interviewed by C-SPAN.[8] On February 13, 2007, it was released on DVD.[7]
The film was praised by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10.The website's consensus reads: "Intelligent and even-handed, ...So Goes the Nation takes an impressively comprehensive look behind the scenes of the modern American election process."[9]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10] Writing for The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis praised the film, writing that the Democrats should view the film as "less as the opening of an old wound and more as a manual for 2008."[11] Writing for Variety, Ronnie Scheib praised the film's use of humor, particularly noting the jokes of political consultant Paul Begala, but found it somewhat boring overall.[2] Writing for The Boston Globe, Wesley Morris felt the movie stood out among political dramas due to its nonpartisan approach to its subject; giving the film a rating of 3/4 stars. He also praised how the film paired Bush's attacks on Kerry as a "flip flopper" with clips of Kerry changing his positions calling it a "cruel thing of beauty."[6] Writing for The Blade, a newspaper based in Ohio, Rob Lockwood praised the film's understanding of the politics of Ohio while admitting the setting was mostly irrelevant to the overarching narrative. He rated the documentary 4/5 stars.[3] However, both Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune and Jack Mathews of New York Daily News disliked the film.[10][12]
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