The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009) Reviews

• The strength of will in the face of indescribable adversity

  silverdote2010-02-24

  Upon leaving office, Booth Gardner, the most popular governor in Washington state history, thought he had life figured out. Turns out he was wrong. Within months of leaving office, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. When we meet Gardner, it is present day and he is losing his faculties---voice is slurred, mobility limited, death is on his mind every day. Taking the approach that he has made every difficult decision in his life---school, marriage, family, career--he posits, "why can't I decide when I want to go? why can't I legally make the most important decision of my life?". And with that we follow Booth Gardner on the campaign trail to get Prop 1000 to legalize "death with dignity" passed. I've had the pleasure of knowing Daniel Junge for 20 years. From his days as a student at NYU film school and his early success with "Chiefs" (winner at TriBeca) through "They Killed Sister Dorothy" (short-listed for Best Doc 2009) he continues to fearlessly tackle difficult subjects and deliver beautiful, thoughtful films. If you love great documentary, look for "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner".

• Simplistic and shallow

  karu27682010-11-03

  This film was just adequate in its handling of the topic. It followed some odd and awkward moments of Booth's, such as everyone at the campaign victory party whooping and hollering for suicide. I remember Booth Gardner from his successful days in political office, and of course it is painful and sad to see him suffering. However, I heard a lot of pat sound-bites from Booth "I think I should have some control of my last days", rather than ever delving in deeper. The fact is, it is a major reversal of public policy and morality to allow legal suicide. I think the film-maker could have addressed these questions a lot more deeply. When Booth hears a radio story about one of his campaign adversaries, his only response is that she is "shrill". That may be, but could he respond to the content of her criticism? Apparently not, or the filmmaker would have shown it. The deeper moral questions of suicide are never addressed. Thus, the film is like a lot of American political coverage, more about the horse race/sporting aspect, less about delving into the difficult content of the issues. There is a wonderful article by Daniel Bergner in the Dec. 2 2007 New York Times Magazine about Booth Gardner, assisted suicide, and a lot that was missing from this film.