Shef Doc Fest Exclusive: The Brink

Ever since 2016, the world seems to be on the brink of breaking apart. The divide between the left and the right seems larger now than it has ever been in recent times. The populist and nationalist movement seems to be sweeping across the west like an uncontrollable wildfire. Gathering up momentum and destroying everything in its path regardless of the consequences.

In a world full of fake news and misinformation, it is important that we have documentaries like Alison Klayman’s The Brink detailing the world around us. Even if it means having to get uncomfortably close to figures like Steve Bannon, Erik Prince, and Nigel Farage. The power of this documentary lies in the fact that we spend so much time in these rooms with these men. And that we see how they operate, taking delight in stroking each other’s egos.

This is really a man’s world. And in this #MeToo era, the documentary makes for compelling viewing. The world may have gone on, but these men still seem to be clinging onto the past. In order to know the opposition, you have to understand what makes them tick. And Klayman does well to let her camera observe this world. Her camera manages to disappear so well that at some points Bannon seems to forget that the camera is even there. And we see hints that perhaps even he isn’t truly convinced that he believes half the crap he’s dishing out.

“This is really a man’s world. And in this #MeToo era, the documentary makes for compelling viewing.”

When we are first introduced to Steve Bannon, he looks somewhat tired and fed up. As he attempts to drink a healthy green smoothie that nephew/assistant has prepared it for him. Bannon is a man who prefers to guzzle down ‘Red Bulls’ and coffee (and yes, I did ask how many energy drinks he consumes. The answer? A lot!). Watching Bannon making such a fuss about drinking this smoothie, is hardly something that we would expect from the man who helped get Donald Trump into the White House. Although, Bannon doesn’t claim to be Trump’s best friend, and the two men have had a falling out with Trump calling him ‘sloppy Steve’.

At the start of the film, Bannon is still reeling from the news that he has been ousted as the White House chief of staff, after the incidents of the Muslim ban and the Charlottesville riots. Rather than quit, Bannon uses this as fuel to help in his gall to spread his alt-right movement (which he ‘originally’ names ‘The Movement’) across Europe. In the past, he’s been a former investment banker and the former executive chairman of Breitbart News. This is a man who likes to take on epic-sized challenges and Bannon is always keen to be on the winning side. His idol is Lincoln, who he reads about in a well-thumbed paperback autobiography. It’s obvious that Bannon is a man who longs to be in the past.

“The impression one gets is of a man hanging on a thread, losing his grip on control.”

During the Q&A session at this year’s Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, a question was proposed to the film’s producer Marie Therese Guirgis. Whether Bannon could be seen in a positive light, and whether there was any potential risk of the alt-right using this film (or at least clips from this film) as to make memes or form of recruitment. However, Bannon doesn’t appear to be presented in such a way. The impression one gets is of a man hanging on a thread, losing his grip on control.

Bannon’s sense of ego is so massive, that he fails to back down from a fight even when the possibility of victory is very, very low. His endorsement of Roy Moore is a perfect example of this. A picture tells a thousand words. And seeing Bannon’s jet-lagged face with large bags under his eyes and a half-hearted smirk, reveals everything we need to know about this man. He knows that sooner or later, his time will be up.

The documentary also reveals Bannon’s sleazy charm, and it’s quite easy to see how many fall for under his spell. He likes to lay on the compliments thick. Especially with the ladies, repeating his line ‘Rose between two thorns’ whenever there’s a photo opportunity with a woman. He claims to like strong women. But like many men of his type, we get the impression that he’s slightly scared of women. He’s a slippery character who seems to have stepped off the set of BBC’s political satire The Thick of It. Except his bark is far worse than anything Malcolm Tucker could spew up.

“The Brink acts as a compelling character study into a man’s fragile bloated ego.

The Brink makes for uncomfortable viewing. But its a necessary documentary that we need to ensure that people like Bannon don’t go unmonitored. Whether Bannon’s ego will prevent him from viewing the documentary or not, there’s no denying that this is something that will follow him. Perhaps has helped dismantle the mythology of this notorious man.

The Brink acts as a compelling character study into a man’s fragile bloated ego, but it’s a film that ends on a high note. Hope is on the horizon, as we see the result of the pink-wave in the US Mid-term elections. Only time will tell whether we are willing to see Bannon and his goons for what they truly are. Frightened men who are clinging onto the past.