Boogie Man documents the life of political strategist Lee Atwater, whose take-no-prisoners style of campaigning helped win George Herbert Walker Bush the presidency. The lessons from that campaign, learned by others such as Karl Rove, informed the tactics that led to Bush's son also occupying the Oval Office. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Director Stefan Forbes has assembled a brilliantly complex portrait that shines an unnerving light on the man who painted the landscape of contemporary American politics.
By the end of Forbes' brisk, economical portrait, Atwater has been revealed as a repugnant and pathetic soul--and a political visionary, among the first to fully understand and harness the raw power of voters' fears.
Stricken with brain cancer in 1990, Atwater renounced his Machiavellian ways, but as Forbes points out, his legacy lives on in his eager proteges Karl Rove and George W. Bush.
Atwater's career is viewed here with fascination and some sympathy, and the pic is sure to win votes in election season with specialty distribs and public tube mavens.
A cinematic smear job against Atwater would be the easiest thing in the world, but Forbes is more interested in presenting a complex character study than a piece of liberal agitprop.
It's refreshing to see a political documentary that's not just boosterism or political propaganda. If anything, this is an argument for 'cleaner' campaigning.
It tells its story in a way you might expect, but it has a few fascinating moments where even Atwater's most ardent defenders of his political tactics in Republican campaigns still decry him as a vicious monster capable of anything. It might even be fair to say that they only liked him because he was on their side.
First of all, I absolutely loved this movie. Lee Atwater was as fascinating as he was deplorable and the man himself made this movie worth watching. With my politic fix mostly gone after the elections this was a great view.For those less fascinated with politics and Karl Rove and such this may be much less exciting.
Overall it's a good but not great documentary if you're not interested in the topic but if you are, it's amazing and enthralling.Worth a view either way but don't get your hopes up if politics doesn't tickle your fancy.
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