Honest Man: The Life of R. Budd Dwyer

I was a sophomore in high school when Dwyer committed suicide, and as the documentary mentions, that was a snow day in Central Pennsylvania. One of the Harrisburg television stations showed the whole suicide, not stopping with the gun in the mouth. Dwyer's death was a haunting moment for many who grew up in Pennsylvania around my age.

Agree with some of the other reviews, both good and bad. The documentary is way too complimentary of Dwyer - - it comes off as something that was financed by his family and friends. As such, the first two-thirds isn't as compelling as a more evenhanded discussion of the man would have been. However, once the day of his suicide is the focus, the documentary picks up, especially with discussion of how the media reacted to the incident. My experience of seeing the suicide happen has made me naturally interested in all things Dwyer; I'm not sure this documentary would make someone who doesn't have the natural interest in the story interested in it.

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!

Personally, I liked the documentary. It's not hard-hitting. It's mainly a favorable view of Dwyer's life. However, while I certainly don't think he was without his flaws, I think the film makes a compelling case for Dwyer's innocence.

Ultimately, it accomplishes this through one thing: William Smith's admission that he lied under oath about Dwyer's involvement. For some reason, ShoeBuckle tries to claim "the film TRIES to show he lied at Dwyer's trial". Either ShoeBuckle is not very bright or he has a reason to come back at Dwyer, because there is no trying involved. Smith himself admits it on camera. He repeatedly expresses his regret for this. It's an objective matter.

I also don't know why ShoeBuckle feels the need to attack Dwyer's son's character, but he does. The son is a normal guy, understandably somewhat embittered talking about this whole mess.

I highly recommend you watch the documentary, and also recommend you treat ShoeBuckle's review as the trash that it is.

A very poignant story especially the last half hour. His wife son daughter and friends have obviously been involved in the making of this documentary...

James Dirschberger's feature-length debut is an astounding portrait of R. Budd Dwyer, the Pennsylvania State Treasurer who committed suicide during a press conference in 1987. For the last 23 years, Dwyer's final moments have been talked about much more than his productive life; so much that it actually has become somewhat of an internet meme despite the event taking place years before people even knew what the internet was. Just three years ago, if you put Dwyer's name into a search engine, all you'd find were suicide related results. Even now it's somewhat difficult to find a picture of Dwyer without the .357 Magnum revolver in his hand… or, in his mouth.

Dirschberger attempts to do the man justice by creating a film that covers more of Dwyer's life than his death. In uncovering Dwyer's life, Dirschberger has brought to light many things that were shadowed during Budd's fight for innocence. The film becomes a tale of an honest man driven to the breaking point.

The 75 minute documentary covers a lot of the man's life and also the story behind the guilty verdict. Dwyer upstaged many of his achievements in life by the way he died, but he made us care enough to look deeper behind how and why he was found guilty… and, even prosecuted in the first place. What's most impressive about the film is that it gives Budd a second chance; it looks deeper into the CTA scandal and it doesn't allow the suicide to center around the plot like some sensationalizing news style article.

To exclude Budd's suicide would deny the impact the CTA scandal had on him, and to include it in its entirety would make the audience focus too much on his death which has already been done for too long. Dirschberger compensates by including the suicide, but taming it down so Budd's story can appeal to more people than just the gorehounds and the morbidly curious.

Interviewees include everyone from family, friends and colleagues to William Smith, the man whose testimony convicted Dwyer. It's a story so controversial and easy to misunderstand; hats off to the crew of "Honest Man: The Life of R. Budd Dwyer" for making all the right moves.

**** (out of four)