The Unknown Known (2013)

Celebrated documentarian Errol Morris’ most recent full-length feature examines former Bush regime Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, using interviews and excerpts from Rumsfeld’s apparently voluminous archive of memos as its basis. The film covers Rumsfeld’s entire career, but primarily centers on his highly criticized role in America’s foreign relations after 9/11. Morris’ typically superb production values, including some fascinating visual motifs and a Danny Elfman score, often undermine Rumsfeld’s contradictory rhetoric. But The Unknown Knowndoesn’t paint him as a cartoonish buffoon or a hand-wringing villain – unlike other reviewers, I gathered that he was unconsciously deluding himself with his evasions and redirections rather than the audience. Rumsfeld comes across as an intelligent figure (albeit one with a freakish obsession for dictionaries), either unable or unwilling to extricate himself from a muddled political and moral quagmire.