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The Brink

2019

Alison Klayman

Documentary, Self: Steve Bannon

6.0

232

Documentary A fly-on-the-wall chronicle of embattled former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's global mission to spread extreme nationalism. When Bannon left his position as WH chief strategist less than a week after the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017, he was already a notorious figure in Trump’s inner circle, known for bringing a far-right ideology into the highest echelons of American politics. Unconstrained by an ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	A. O. Scott The New York Times	"[A] movie that people who hate Bannon may embrace - they are surely the intended audience - but that doesn't mean Bannon himself will hate it. It both exposes and flatters his vanity."	POS
United States	David Fear Rolling Stone	"It's recommendable in the same way that a doctor recommends regular colonoscopies - you're better off suffering through the discomfort because the alternative is far worse (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Ann Hornaday The Washington Post	"It's up to the rest of us either to ignore [Bannon], out-argue him or, as "The Brink" does so entertainingly, demystify him for good (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"An impeccably crafted verité ramble — an engaging and enraging, disturbing and highly revealing movie (...) A far better and more penetrating film than Errol Morris’s Bannon portrait"	POS
United States	John DeFore The Hollywood Reporter	"This Bannon is a snooze (...) nearly never saying anything unusually smart or new (...) It's hard to see what ordinary viewers at any point on the political spectrum will gain from this particular status report"	NEG
United States	Eric Kohn IndieWire	"The result is a watchable overview with few explosive details, but plenty of reasons to root for his downfall, and some modicum of payoff."	POS
United States	Bilge Ebiri Vulture	"A lot of folks in the journalism world (...) are fascinated by Bannon as a source of ideas (...) [Klayman] achieves something far more valuable and chilling: She shows us not so much what Bannon thinks as what Bannon 'does'."	POS
United States	Vikram Murthi The Film Stage	"It’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly Klayman accomplishes with her film beyond a mere political horror show one can safely view from behind proverbial Plexiglas."	NEG
United States	Todd Gilchrist The Wrap	"Klayman’s film showcases the qualities that make Stephen Bannon such an effective political strategist"	POS
United States	Glenn Kenny rogerebert.com	"[An] accomplished, absorbing film (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
Ireland	Tara Brady Irish Times	"[Klayman] allows Bannon the space to do his everyman shtick, but never succumbs to the Stockholm syndrome that too often kicks in with personality politics. That distance only adds to the chills (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
Ireland	Tanya Sweeney Irish Independent	"Utterly compelling and slightly maddening, whatever your political leaning might be (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"What emerges from Klayman’s film is how very important Brexit Britain is as a self-vivisecting research animal in Bannon’s experimental thinking (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Kevin Maher The Times	"This is, at best, morally slippery film-making (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEU

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