I’ve always found the idea that Ralph Nader cost the Democrats the white house in 2000 to be especially repugnant and naïve. If the Democratic Party couldn’t muster a solid win against George W Bush it can only blame itself. At the risk of beginning a long and troubled rant on modern politics I’ll turn my attention to the film that endeavors to shed light on one of the most influential Americans of the last half century.
From his work as a pioneering consumer advocate for automobile safety to his push for a political reawakening, An Unreasonable Man uses stock footage, new interviews, and classic Nader quips to create a compelling and informative documentary akin to Errol Morris’ The Fog of War. The film tries very hard to follow the structure of Morris’ best work, but it throws so many talking heads at you that it soon begins to blur. The overly dramatic music doesn’t help either. At times the music dominates interviews and overwhelms some very interesting pieces of information, coloring them so heavily that any subtlety is lost. The effect is that the viewer is not invited to draw their own conclusions. With cheesy animation and unrelenting voiceover the film jumps from point to point ramming them home without a moment for seriousness of topics to settle in.
Structuring anomalies aside, An Unreasonable Man features interviews with Nader and some of the best political minds alive. What emerges is a portrait of a man with a clear moral center, and the determination to hold others accountable. As the decades and personal crusades tick by, Nader’s image grows with his ego. Rightly so, many would say, because he has been instrumental in helping to organize generations of environmentally conscious voters.
Today Ralph Nader is remembered as an electoral curio that some hold responsible for everything from Bush’s win to the war in Iraq. This film illuminates the past of a man who fought for automobile safety, worked to reform the Federal Trade Commission, and became our greatest consumer advocate. An Unreasonable Man does an excellent job as a biographic documentary. While it isn’t as engaging as some of the best films in this genre, it is nonetheless fascinating. Its power to enthrall comes entirely from the life of its subject.