Weiner
Sundance Selects | Release Date: May 20, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
31
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TheWrapTricia OlszewskiMay 20, 2016
Kriegman and Steinberg’s incredible access allows you to ride the whole roller coaster. Read full review
100
The GuardianLanre BakareJan 31, 2016
A riveting excursion into fear and loathing on the campaign trail. Read full review
100
IndieWireEric KohnJan 31, 2016
The filmmakers have instead provided a brilliant window into the impact of the contemporary media circus on public life. While not exactly a figure of sympathy — he lied, after all, more than once — Weiner nevertheless maintains the charisma and drive to provide the movie with one of the most compelling anti-heroes in recent memory. Read full review
91
The PlaylistKatie WalshMay 21, 2016
It’s timely, it’s entertaining, it’s a blast of energy, but Weiner also drills down into the unique nature of American politics in the media saturated, smartphone-enhanced, Twitter hot-takes age. Read full review
91
ConsequenceRandall ColburnMay 20, 2016
In the end, it’s not Weiner with whom you’re furious, but a media climate that routinely prioritizes scandal and lewdness over the intricacies of a candidate’s platform. With the circus that is our forthcoming election rapidly approaching, this message is all the more resonant. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayMay 18, 2016
This film doesn’t lionize Weiner or justify anything he did. What it does is capture the frenzy of politics, the iron-clad egos of politicians, and the failure of the media to cover the parts of campaigning and government that actually matter. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyMay 18, 2016
If this soap opera wasn’t real, you’d never believe it. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 26, 2016
There is something fascinating about the intimacy of the camera here that is magnetic. And harrowing. And frustrating. And maddening. And a little sad. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMay 19, 2016
Infuriating and depressing but rivetingly watchable. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 19, 2016
Weiner, an extraordinary documentary feature about the disgraced New York politician Anthony Weiner, has it all — the surreal spectacle of contemporary retail politics, the sizzle of media madness and the mysteries of psychodrama. Read full review
89
The VergeTasha RobinsonJun 3, 2016
The miracle of Weiner is that like the complicated man at its center, it's open to interpretation. Schadenfreude seekers who just want to see Weiner sweat and suffer will get their money's worth. But so will curious viewers who show up in a spirit of inquiry, looking for the full story. They'll get more than one. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJun 1, 2016
It’s a movie from which you can’t look away, no matter how hard you may try. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Simon HouptJun 30, 2016
A case study in blunt-force media trauma. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldJun 2, 2016
His name might be a punchline, but his story — and the human toll that it took — isn’t. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMay 29, 2016
The cameras simply follow Weiner’s every move, which includes disastrous public appearances, embarrassing press conferences, and media interviews that don’t exactly go Weiner’s way. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 26, 2016
The movie’s a galvanizing, tragicomic work of 21st-century schadenfreude, marred only by a barely repressed giddiness on the part of the filmmakers. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn HornadayMay 26, 2016
Hubris, narcissism, tabloid spectacle and massive self-deception collide with the mesmerizing inevitability of a slow-motion train wreck in Weiner, an engrossing, almost shamefully entertaining documentary. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonMay 20, 2016
A documentary that plays as cringe comedy. Like that sub-genre, it comes packaged with a star whose irascibility often leads to eye-covering levels of discomfort. Read full review
83
The Film StageJordan RaupMay 19, 2016
Even divorced from scandal, Weiner makes for a captivating, sadly comical look at the machinations of the political process. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 23, 2016
Mesmerizing documentary. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMay 20, 2016
When Kriegman is heard at a Weiner low point asking, “Why did you let me film this?” you’re glad the question is asked. But there’s no answer: The narcissism is all up there onscreen, but shame will have to wait for the sequel. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMay 19, 2016
Once again, truth proves stranger than fiction in the raucous and provocative documentary Weiner. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonMay 17, 2016
Weiner may now regret allowing such intimate things to be filmed - indeed he has publicly said that he won't be watching the film - but Kriegman and co-director Steinberg have crafted a hugely lively and compelling portrait. Read full review
80
Village VoiceBilge EbiriMay 17, 2016
Weiner is about as entertaining as a film about someone destroying a life and career can be. You can't turn away from the car wreck, and Weiner himself can't stop commenting on it. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 16, 2016
Weiner is a tabula rasa documentary — one of the most provocative of its kind I’ve seen. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 31, 2016
It's an invigorating chance to experience from afar an ordeal that, unless your name is Eliot Spitzer, you and I will never have to endure. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMay 26, 2016
Several aspects of Weiner, from Jeff Beal's sardonic music (interpolating, among other cues, the theme from "S.W.A.T.") to the shock-cut editing strategies, nudge the movie toward entertaining if facile mockery mixed with just enough empathy to prevent curdling. It's pretty irresistible viewing, though, which is a pretty sad thing to concede. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMay 26, 2016
Weiner tells a different story — a riveting portrait of a man so consumed by hubris and confidence that he is utterly blind to his failings. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 20, 2016
What’s clear is that many of Weiner’s supporters within the mayoral campaign stuck with him only because of Abedin’s connection to the Clintons. Hey, it’s politics. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 19, 2016
This spellbinder about a politician in free fall would be hilarious if it weren't so agonizingly true. OK, it's still pretty funny because Anthony Weiner — the subject of this documentary — can't stop shooting himself in the foot. Read full review
70
VarietyGeoff BerkshireJan 31, 2016
Filmmakers Josh Kriegman (a former Weiner aide) and Elyse Steinberg utilize their seemingly unfettered access to deliver a rollicking and never-dull insider’s view of a political campaign in crisis mode, but the most fascinating questions surrounding Weiner’s epic fall remain unanswered. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsGersh HuntzmanMay 18, 2016
It never ever falls into painting him as a victim of anything but his own hubris, neurosis and psycho-sexual issues. Never once do we hear Weiner complain about anything except how easy it is for headline writers to make fun of his name. He knows who got him into all this trouble — himself — which is also refreshing to watch. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChristopher GrayMar 14, 2016
Josh Kriegman and Elyse Sternberg's film never discovers a greater purpose beyond its undeniable sideshow appeal. Read full review
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