The Way I See It

I have immense respect for Pete Souza because I believe he's one of the best photojournalists around. His archive of nostalgic Obama moments hit you with each frame serving up nostalgia that might either rekindle your love for Obama, or perhaps sharpen your disdain for Trump, or both. But that's all there is. Nice photos, and plays it safe. There's a small section dedicated to Souza's early Reagan days, almost to prove he’s non-partisan, but as the documentary proceeds, it's clear where his heart lies. Regardless, they're still intriguing to listen to. Especially the behind-the-lens stories that complement his shots, as a nudge to continually remind you just how heavy the US presidency is, and why who’s sitting in that chair matters so damn much. If you're here for the powerful stills and warm memories of Barack being Barack, this one's for you.

I have immense respect for Pete Souza because I believe he's one of the best photojournalists around. His archive of nostalgic Obama moments hit you with each frame serving up nostalgia that might either rekindle your love for Obama, or perhaps sharpen your disdain for Trump, or both. But that's all there is. Nice photos, and plays it safe. There's a small section dedicated to Souza's early Reagan days, almost to prove he’s non-partisan, but as the documentary proceeds, it's clear where his heart lies. Regardless, they're still intriguing to listen to. Especially the behind-the-lens stories that complement his shots, as a nudge to continually remind you just how heavy the US presidency is, and why who’s sitting in that chair matters so damn much. If you're here for the powerful stills and warm memories of Barack being Barack, this one's for you.

Thought I was getting yet another political documentary just from the thumbnail. It's definitely has a biased outlook on government eras (both new and old) but it has a lot of heart that it swept me up within minutes and held my interest throughout. Even Aloe Blacc's 2 songs, that he wrote specifically for the film, didn't feel as unnecessary as those "generic, Oscar-Bait" pop songs that usually come with films like these (like the Jennifer Hudson one from RBG a few years back). I'm glad I watched it.

Thought I was getting yet another political documentary just from the thumbnail. It's definitely has a biased outlook on government eras (both new and old) but it has a lot of heart that it swept me up within minutes and held my interest throughout. Even Aloe Blacc's 2 songs, that he wrote specifically for the film, didn't feel as unnecessary as those "generic, Oscar-Bait" pop songs that usually come with films like these (like the Jennifer Hudson one from RBG a few years back). I'm glad I watched it.

Brb gonna take some photos

Brb gonna take some photos

Watched via an advance screener from Film Independent

As a Democrat who loves President Obama, I very much appreciate and am here for any opportunity to watch people dunk on the current administration and illustrate the vast differences as a president and person that we've seen between the current guy and his predecessor.

But for a film that is supposed to profile Pete Souza, I feel this maybe missed the mark a bit and focused too much on the current president being bad and not enough on Souza's time as the official photographer of the Obama White House (learning that this doc, which is an MSNBC Films production, will air on MSNBC on Oct. 9 made a lot of sense).

What I loved about this documentary were the moments that we learned about Souza as a person and photographer, and what it was like to spend that time capturing the presidency through his lens — as the photographer for both Obama and Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, this didn't spend quite as much time on that as I would have liked it to.

You can watch a number of things that center on the contrast of Obama's America vs. Trump's America, but this was a chance to really examine in an extensive and meaningful way what it was like to be the person around President Obama as much as any non-family member during those eight years. In that way, I think it came up a little short.

Overall, I enjoyed it (and if you align politically with the message of the film, you will too) but it could have been better. I do wish it was framed differently with less focus on the most obvious point to drive home that we've seen and heard all about over and over again by now.

UPDATED: 2020, ranked

Watched via an advance screener from Film Independent

As a Democrat who loves President Obama, I very much appreciate and am here for any opportunity to watch people dunk on the current administration and illustrate the vast differences as a president and person that we've seen between the current guy and his predecessor.

But for a film that is supposed to profile Pete Souza, I feel this maybe missed the mark a bit and focused too much on the current president being bad and not enough on Souza's time as the official photographer of the Obama White House (learning that this doc, which is an MSNBC Films production, will air on MSNBC on Oct. 9 made a lot of sense).

What I loved about this documentary were the moments that we learned about Souza as a person and photographer, and what it was like to spend that time capturing the presidency through his lens — as the photographer for both Obama and Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, this didn't spend quite as much time on that as I would have liked it to.

You can watch a number of things that center on the contrast of Obama's America vs. Trump's America, but this was a chance to really examine in an extensive and meaningful way what it was like to be the person around President Obama as much as any non-family member during those eight years. In that way, I think it came up a little short.

Overall, I enjoyed it (and if you align politically with the message of the film, you will too) but it could have been better. I do wish it was framed differently with less focus on the most obvious point to drive home that we've seen and heard all about over and over again by now.

UPDATED: 2020, ranked