An Unreasonable Man

The intention is clearly to repair the longtime consumer advocate's legacy. After making a compelling case for his positive impact by tracking the triumphs of his early career, the filmmakers spend so much time on the elections of 2000 and 2004 that they wind up perpetuating the same crime they're combating, considering Nader largely through that lens. Still, enough of the film is a solid documentary tracking one man's lifelong crusade to prove that committed citizenship can change the nation.

Theme is the tension between what-is and how-ought, secondarily what that has meant for the post-Vietnam American left, developed through interesting and entertaining interviews and all of course leading up to 7 Nov 2000. Clearly an apologia, but ample space is given to Nader's critics, which include once and future supporters as well as turncoats. The staggering breadth of his early achievements is perhaps shortchanged, but it's clear that no American of his time *did* more with his idealism.

I didn't know Ralph Nader existed before this movie, so it was all new to me. He is a very interesting character very passionate and fighting again all odds for his convictions. The documentary is well balanced between being informative, entertaining and showing a broad picture of the role Ralph Nader has played in USA. I think the editing was fantastic giving slow and fast development when needed, something a lot of documentaries could learn from.

It may not be one of the best documentaries in terms of editing or cinematography, but any film the spreads the word about such an important American figure deserves as much praise as it can get.

Pro-Nader documentary for sure but at the same time it's hard not to be. In the US it's hard to think of a man who's been more concerned about the general safety of the public and consumer and how some corporations will literally get away with whatever they can in order to save money. I always found it sad how the 2000 election had Nader as the fallout guy when the US democratic system is inherently broken and those faults are flatly laid on someone who's tried to improve the US for decades.

I love you, Ralph Nader.

He's unfairly blamed for ruining the outcome of the 2000 election, and his past efforts in fighting for the consumer have unfortunately become a footnote due to the staining of his character (by the left, no less) in the years following that election. This doc successfully rectifies that. Although it leaves you hopeless about America breaking its two-party system, you owe it to yourself to watch this (at least the first half, prior to 2000) if you don't know what Nader's done for the country.