Rather

Solid overview, little real insight.

If you're looking for a reminder of a hugely impactful career in newsgathering, then Rather is rather perfect.

The structure is fairly clever, starting towards the beginning but not quite at it, jumping forward and back, hopping around enough to keep the viewer on their toes and avoid the typical traps of the cradle-to-almost-grave profile.

Rather is fine. It’s not definitive.

The most interesting thing about Rather is how the evolution of his career runs parallel to historical events... from the Vietnam War to Watergate and the revelation of tortured prisoners in Iraq at the hands of US soldiers. [Full review in Spanish]

A documentary that celebrates one of the greatest icons in the world of journalism, the film makes you yearn for the days when news was news and America could agree on the facts.

A really interesting, clear-eyed reckoning of one man’s influence&#59; and we should all be so lucky to leave a legacy this large.

Follows the greatest hits format, but hopscotches around between archived news clips from different eras, contemporary interviews with Rather and some of his professional associates, to produce an encapsulation of his life that feels properly vetted.

For those of us who may not have any existing knowledge of or affection for Rather, this is an awfully inelegant, uninteresting way to frame a fascinating career in American television.

Who he is now is worthy of the punk tune that accompanies the doc’s introduction, but there’s little sense in the story provided if that’s who he was before.