Weiner (film)

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Weiner
Weiner (film).png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
  • Josh Kriegman
  • Elyse Steinberg
Produced by
  • Josh Kriegman
  • Elyse Steinberg
  • Julie Goldman
  • Christopher Clements
  • Carolyn Hepburn
  • Elizabeth Delaune Warren
  • Sean McGing
CinematographyJosh Kriegman
Edited byEli B. Despres
Production
companies
Distributed by Sundance Selects Showtime
Release dates
  • January 24, 2016 (2016-01-24)(Sundance Film Festival)
  • May 20, 2016 (2016-05-20)(theatrical)
Running time
96 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,702,489 [2]

Weiner is a 2016 American fly-on-the-wall political documentary film by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg about Anthony Weiner's campaign for Mayor of New York City during the 2013 mayoral election.

Contents

Synopsis

The documentary follows congressman Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin, shortly after his 2011 resignation when scandalous photos of Weiner mysteriously appeared on his Twitter account. [3] The photos led to a tumultuous spiral as more and more pictures of the congressman in various states of undress began to leak to the public. [4] The documentary revolves around Weiner's attempted comeback from his initial resignation during his 2013 campaign in the Democratic Party primary for Mayor of New York City. His campaign goes well at first, with many New Yorkers willing to give him a second chance as evidenced in polls putting him at or near the top of a tight mayoral race. [5]

During the filming of the documentary, however, additional leaked photos and evidence of online sexual activity surface, including explicit text conversations with women and a teenaged child that occurred well after his 2011 resignation from Congress. The mood of the campaign switches from exuberance to pain. Intimate views are captured of Weiner, his wife and his campaign staff struggling with the new revelations and the media firestorm that ensues. Weiner's wife, an adviser to Hillary Clinton, comes under fire during the scandal. [6] The relationship between the couple becomes strained, and in a couple of instances, the camera is asked to leave the room. [7] [8] Weiner's campaign manager quits when a press conference is held in which Weiner comes clean about his sexting, and his campaign begins to take a downward spiral. Weiner comes in fifth place in the polls, garnering only 4.9% of the popular vote. [9]

People

People documented in the film include:

The film also features archival footage from:

Release

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. It was released theatrically in the United States in May 2016 and broadcast on Showtime in October 2016. Starting in June 2014, the film began releasing internationally in the UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Australia, and Japan, and television broadcasts in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Israel, Belgium, and Holland.[ citation needed ] The film received an R rating from the MPAA for language and some sexual material.

Upon release, Anthony Weiner declined to endorse the film and claimed he had no intention of ever seeing the final product, saying "I already know how it ends."

After the film was released, Weiner claimed that "Kriegman had assured him verbally and in emails that he would not use Abedin in the film without her consent", and that Abedin never granted permission for Kriegman to use the footage. When asked if he will sue the filmmakers, Weiner didn't give a definitive answer. The filmmakers disputed Weiner's claim, stating that they clearly "had consent from everyone who appears in the film, including Anthony and Huma." [10]

Reception

Critical reception

The film received near universal acclaim by critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 97% of 177 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.The website's consensus reads: "Weiner uses sharp insight and untrammeled access to offer a portrait of a political and personal collapse that's as queasy as it is undeniably compelling." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [12]

Wendy Ide of The Observer gave it four out of five stars, writing: "Edited to perfection, this is like watching the slow-motion footage of a building collapsing. Weiner’s long-suffering wife, Huma Abedin … is a key sympathetic presence in the film. But it is Weiner himself, a likable narcissist with an Olympic capacity for vanity and self-delusion, who is every documentary-maker's dream subject." [13]

Brian Lowry of CNN wrote: What Weiner makes painfully clear is the collateral damage of Weiner's actions, not merely on his wife but those who believed in and devoted their energy to his campaign. To that extent, it's possible to share his politics and still see him as a fatally flawed vessel for them. [14]

Box office

The film performed decently, earning a worldwide box office total of $1,751,120 on an unknown budget. Of that $1,751,120, the film made $1,675,196 domestically and $75,924 internationally. On a per-theater average, the film made about $16,835 per screen. [15]

Best of lists

Accolades

AwardCategoryRecipients and NomineesOutcome
Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards Best Edited Documentary FeatureEli B. DespresNominated
Austin Film Critics Association Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Australian Film Critics Association [25] Best Documentary Film (Local or International)WeinerNominated
Awards Circuit Community AwardsBest Documentary Feature FilmWeinerNominated
British Academy Film Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Central Ohio Film Critics AssociationBest DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Champs-Élysées Film Festival Prix du juryWeinerWon
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Chlotrudis Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Cinema Eye Honors Awards Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Feature FilmmakingWeinerNominated
Outstanding Achievement in EditingEli B. DespresNominated
Cinema Eye Audience Choice PrizeWeinerNominated
The Unforgettables Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner Won
Critics' Choice Documentary AwardsBest First Documentary (Theatrical Feature)Josh Kriegman, Elyse SteinbergWon
Best Documentary FeatureWeinerNominated
Best Political DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Denver Film Critics SocietyBest Documentary FilmWeinerNominated
Detroit Film Critics Society Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement in DocumentaryJosh Kriegman & Elyse SteinbergNominated
Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerWon
Florida Film Critics Circle AwardsBest DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association Documentary of the yearWeinerNominated
Georgia Film Critics AssociationBest Documentary FilmWeinerNominated
Gotham AwardsAudience AwardWeinerNominated
Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Grierson British Documentary AwardsBest Cinema DocumentaryWeinerWon
Hamburg Film FestivalPolitical Film AwardWeinerNominated
Houston Film Critics Society AwardsBest Documentary FeatureWeinerNominated
Indiana Film Journalists AssociationBest DocumentaryWeiner2nd place
Indiewire Critics Poll Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Best First FeatureJosh Kriegman, Elyse SteinbergNominated
International Documentary Association Best FeatureWeinerNominated
Iowa Film Critics AwardsBest DocumentaryWeiner3rd place
Jerusalem Film Festival Best International FilmWeinerNominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society AwardsBest DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Montclair Film Festival David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction FilmmakingWeinerWon
Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary FeatureWeinerNominated
New Hampshire Film FestivalAudience Choice – DocumentaryWeinerWon
North Carolina Film Critics AssociationBest Documentary FilmWeinerNominated
North Texas Film Critics AssociationBest DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Oklahoma Film Critics Circle AwardsBest DocumentaryWeiner2nd Place
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society AwardsBest Documentary FilmWeinerNominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerWon
Sarasota Film Festival Special Jury Prize - Unprecedented Look at Politics in CrisisWeinerWon
Seattle Film Critics AwardsBest DocumentaryWeinerNominated
St. Louis Film Critics AssociationBest Documentary FeatureWeinerNominated
Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize – DocumentaryWeinerWon
Television Critics Association Outstanding Achievement in News and InformationWeinerNominated
Utah Film Critics Association AwardsBest Documentary Feature FilmWeiner2nd place
Village Voice Film Poll Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best DocumentaryWeinerNominated
Women Film Critics Circle Awards Worst Male Images in a MovieWeinerNominated
Zurich Film Festival Best International Documentary FilmWeinerNominated

Notes

1. ^ Abedin and Weiner separated in 2017. [26]

References

  1. ↑ "WEINER (15)". British Board of Film Classification. June 8, 2016. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Weiner (2016)". The Numbers . Nash Information Services. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Congressman: A hacker placed lewd photo on Twitter account". CNN. May 31, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Rep. Weiner Used Congressional Gym as Backdrop". TMZ. June 13, 2011. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  5. ↑ Amira, Dan (June 25, 2013). "Anthony Weiner is Now Leading the Mayoral Race". Intelligencer. New York Magazine.
  6. ↑ Gray, Melissa; Duke, Alan (July 24, 2013). "Hillary Clinton adviser Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner's wife, now in spotlight". CNN Politics. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  7. ↑ Kohn, Eric (January 24, 2016). "Sundance Review: 'Weiner' is the Best Documentary About a Political Campaign Ever Made". IndieWire . Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on August 31, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ Bakare, Lanre (January 24, 2016). "Weiner review: an unsparing portrait of politics". The Guardian . Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2018..
  9. ↑ "New York City 2013 Primaries (LIVE RESULTS)". Huffington Post. September 9, 2013. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  10. ↑ Leibovich, Mark (August 18, 2016). "Anthony Weiner Says His Wife Never Agreed to That Documentary". The New York Times . Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Weiner". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 10, 2021. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  12. ↑ "Weiner Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  13. ↑ Ide, Wendy (July 10, 2016). "Weiner review – a political scandal in slow motion". The Observer . Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  14. ↑ Lowry, Brian (October 21, 2016). "'Weiner' captures candidate's political fall". CNN. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Weiner (2016) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  16. ↑ Willmore, Alison (December 9, 2016). "Here Are The 11 Best Movies Of 2016". BuzzFeed . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  17. ↑ Schager, Nick (December 20, 2016). "The 10 Best Documentaries of 2016 That Are Trying to Change the World". Esquire . Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  18. ↑ THR Staff. "Critics' Picks: The 10 Best Documentaries of the Year". The Hollywood Reporter . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  19. ↑ Jacobs, Matthew (December 15, 2016). "The 21 Best Movies Of 2016". HuffPost . Oath . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  20. ↑ Kohn, Eric (December 5, 2016). "16 Best Movies of 2016". IndieWire . Penske Business Media . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ The Editors of GQ (December 19, 2016). "The Best Movies of 2016". GQ . Condé Nast . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  22. ↑ Schonfeld, Zach; Firger, Jessica; Goodman, Leah Mcgrath; Raeburn, Paul; Westcott, Lucy; Noriega, Margarita; Toureille, Claire; Nazaryan, Alexander; Saville, Jordan; Burleigh, Nina; Roe, Bob; Walters, John (December 15, 2016). "The 21 best movies of 2016". Newsweek . Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  23. ↑ Campbell, Christopher (January 8, 2017). "The Best Documentaries of 2016, Ranked". Thrillist . Group Nine Media . Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  24. ↑ Freeman, Peter (December 31, 2016). "DC Outlook's Top 10 Movies of 2016". DC Outlook. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  25. ↑ "The 2017 AFCA Awards". Australian Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  26. ↑ Chozick, Amy; Healy, Patrick (August 29, 2016). "Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin to Separate After His Latest Sexting Scandal (Published 2016)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
Awards
Preceded by Sundance Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary
2016		Succeeded by
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