The Insurrectionist Next Door

The beginning of this film said it was made by HBO Documentary Films, and after seeing the filmmaker make a great pitch on Bill Maher, I was convinced I would see a side of the January 6th topic that was new and interesting. Instead, this was seemingly a extra long YouTube video. The filmmaker is a horrible interviewer and often leads the conversation, which makes her sound like a hateful older sister trying to get their little brother say something condemning on video. She talks to the person she is interviewing with such disgust, hate and cold contempt it is often very irritating and very "showing of her privilege", she often makes fun of her interviewee in a way that they don't always catch, which also makes her a bully.

This is a mother good documentary by Alexandra Pelosi. Pelosi is the daughter of Former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and an acclaimed documentary filmmaker. Her Travels with George is a terrific and humanizing look at George Bush's Presidential election campaign. This one looks at the stories, through footage, and their own words of some of the convicted January 6 Capital Rioters. Pelosi does not soft soap her approach to their questioning, and I appreciate that. This gives you a look at some of the Trump followers and the impact of the January 6 riots on their life and perspectives. The film is intriguing. It is worth watching.

The daughter of Nancy Pelosi (speaker of the house, who was hated by many Trump supporters) made a documentary about these people who stormed the Capitol building.

I expected to see a partisan colored portrait, which would ridicule or at least paint a negative picture of all these Trump supporters who now have to face jail time, but the opposite was true. This was a fair portrait. Honestly.

Not only was it a fair portrait, Pelosi's daughter made the prosecuted Jan 6 protesters look human and innocent. Most of them really had no intention at all for instigating violence or even entering the Capitol building at all. But nonetheless they got lengthy jail times of 3 months minimum for merely entering the Capitol building.

What's further interesting about this documentary is the director's amazement that these prosecuted and jailed Jan 6 protesters still do wholeheartedly support Donald Trump. Not an inch of doubt about their loyalty, even after all that has happened.

This documentary is giving the Jan 6 protesters a human face and makes understandable (by interviewing several of these January 6th protestors) why many folks did what they did. Really interesting watch, which touches on many prejudices and misunderstandings.

I'm as anti-Trump as they come, and an avid watcher of every documentary related to the travesty of his failed attempt at governance. But this was one was a yawn fest and so cringe fully awkward that I had to bail less than a quarter of my way through. The only reason it's made it this far in terms of promotion and airtime is because of the obvious nepotism around the producer's family name, which can only allow something to go so far in an industry before it falls laughably flat once it enters the town square of public opinion. This documentary had a lot of potential and I'm hoping someone more cinematographically competent can pick up its broken pieces and run with the construct to make a piece decent for television.

Upon viewing the film, there's no denying its potential. It promised an insightful look into a complex issue, and the anticipation was palpable. Pelosi's role, however, raises eyebrows due to her prominence in the political arena. One can't help but wonder about the level of objectivity and impartiality that was brought to the storytelling. While there appeared to be sincere attempts to strike a balance in presenting different facets of the story, the end result often left viewers scratching their heads, searching for more definitive answers and a clearer perspective. The narrative sometimes meandered, creating a disjointed feeling that reminded one of a student film, albeit with a significantly larger budget. It is indeed an intriguing decision on HBO's part to include this in their repertoire. But then, it's also commendable that they are willing to showcase a wide range of perspectives, emphasizing the importance of diversity in storytelling.