Strong and Moving!

Good idea lost in the noise

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

If the purpose of a documentary is to enlighten via the presentation of unbiased facts than surely james dirschberger's 'honest man : the life of r budd dwyer' is the ultimate anti-documentary.From the choice of interviewees (family members,ex colleagues),reluctance to even acknowledge or go into detail about the incriminating evidence against him and finally the completely partisan title of the finished product,you should be in no doubt what conclusions the film's makers want to you to draw about the case.Having had no preconceptions regarding dwyer's guilt or innocence going into watching this (i was merely interested in the story),i was disappointed by the bull in a china shop approach to proving his innocence. Imagine if 'capturing the friedman's' andrew jarecki's superlative documentary about the friedman abuse case took this same approach from the get go,then we'd have missed out on all the rich insight and thought provoking evidence for and against the accused that the director gleaned from both the interviews and the evidence he had procured and would have been left with a glorified celluloid character reference instead. As such 'honest man' is a massively dispiriting misfire that will surely only appeal to those who want quick and easy answers and wont question from whence they came.

Honest Man is by far one of the most compelling films I've watched in many years. You do not need to be a political person to become enthralled with this very human movie. From the very beginning to the end you will be engulfed in a story of a man who's life was turned upside down in a moment. Life accounts from his family as well as from his colleagues and video clips draw a picture of man who within 75 minutes becomes your friend or a close relative. You will feel his despair as his trial nears and watching this family man succumb to such a desperate end is a true tragedy. What remains is sadness when the movie is over but with it the hope that the lesson here for us is that while we inhabit this earth together, let us remember to treat each other with respect, kindness and honesty.

I had the great opportunity to come across "Honest Man: the Life of R. Budd Dwyer", a very well done biographical documentary and a tribute to a man who dedicated his life to serve his state, but who fell victim of political revenge and a disastrous justice system.Although it's very hard to think about Budd Dwyer without thinking of his suicide, this documentary does an incredible job of not exploiting "the scene", guiding the audience to focus on what's really important to understand, which is Budd's life and his story.The composition of the film was brilliant, narrating the story through a combination of powerful interviews with family members, notable archive materials, historic documents, and a very fine touch of artistic elements.This is a great film that is both emotional and informative, and one not to miss.

Most of us watched this documentary for one reason, we saw Dwyer's suicide video and wanted to know what drove this man to do what he did. If I could sum Honest Man up in one word it would be poignant. At no time does the documentary try to sway you in his innocence or his guilt, which is the foundation of a good documentary, to present history without forcing you to believe what the documentarian believes. I think most of us are going to go into this with the outcome predetermined and we will see it the way we want to see it. I am not an emotional person but watching this documentary there were times that I felt something I'm not used to… sadness. Borrowed time, we are all on it, and Honest Man really shows us that not just Budd, and what went on in his life, but what could go on in any given day in ours. Many interviews in this documentary will stick with me. The only down side is there is very little of Budd himself talking. On the DVD there are a few swearing ins and a little bit of his final speech, in the extras, but what we learn of Budd comes from the memories of others and not his own words. Just to set the record straight the final speech was NOT aired live, it was rebroadcast. Who would care to watch the assumed resignation of a state treasurer live? Yes, kids were off of school that day but they did not see it live!