Election Day – DVD Review
The Film:
It’s an odd thing, an election day. For the years between each presidential election, the media is ruthless in their attack of the opposition. Once that fateful November evening rolls around, however, the public’s wildly divergent opinions take a backseat to a universal embrace of the democratic system. Election Day, a cinéma vérité documentary by director Katy Chevigny, tells the story of the 2004 presidential election: not by examining the candidates, but rather by portraying the average American voter – no matter what class, race, or gender – as the stars.
The project was one of great ambition. Chevigny assembled a dozen camera crews and sent them to different parts of the nation in an effort to film the various polling establishments during the 2004 presidential election. We get a thorough sampling of the populous in an effort to contrast how the voting process differs between members of each race and class. Many of the African American voters, for example, are subjected to two hour waits, meanwhile predominately white suburban areas get right in and out. One of the white women in the film argues that “voting is a privilege, not a right”, whereas a noble black woman shouts to the poll-workers that it is, in fact, her right, and every American should have to wait an equal amount of time to cast their ballot.
Although Chevigny is clever in not assigning a political agenda to her material, her subjects are mostly anti-Bush. One of the most memorable characters in the film, an extremist Republican with bumper stickers reading “the road to hell is paved with liberals”, is among the few documented Bush supporters.
Taking a viewpoint on the politics is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is another contributing factor to the film’s undetermined identity. The film is an amalgam of topics – it argues for a reformed method of voting, meanwhile examining racial discrimination in America and the rights of ex-convicts, among other things. The filmmaker is pleasantly unobtrusive – only on one or two occasions do the characters speak directly to camera – but by assembling such a vague film, it’s hard to discover what the director is trying to say.
Election Day is charming company. It gives us a cross-country glimpse of our citizens – a few of it’s subjects, like the ex-convict or the Native American activist, are people with voices hardly examined on film. While it’s efforts are commendable, however, I would’ve liked to see the film pose a clearer argument.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: The film is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, window-boxed on widescreen television sets. Unfortunately, the transfer is not up to the standards that we have come to expect today – the film looks rather dull, and there are some issues with pixelation throughout. The audio track is acceptable considering the limitations of the project.
About the Director: Katy Chevigny: A text biography about director Katy Chevigny.
Director’s Interview: In this short interview, Katy Chevigny discusses the idea behind the documentary and how her production team gathered the cast and assigned the crew. I would have liked to see a more thorough examination of how she gathered such a wildly diverse group of people, but this is an informative cliff notes version. Chevigny notes that the combined raw footage added up to over one hundred hours, which sounds like a whole documentary in itself (9 min).
Blaze Foley Tribute Concert at SXSW Premiere: This concert was filmed at the premiere of Election Day at 2007′s South by Southwest Film Festival. The song, titled Election Day, is performed by a few friends of Blaze Foley, the singer/songwriter who passed away in 1989 (6 min).
Additional Scenes: Rounding out the special features is five additional scenes, each running somewhere between one and five minutes. One of the scenes, following Jim Fuchs as he informs pollers of Republican after-parties, is perhaps the highlight – it’s edited to be enormously dry comedy (15 min).
Conclusion: Election Day is an entertaining documentary with some memorable subjects. Although it’s message is vague, the film is successful in giving voices to a few of the significant American minority groups rarely represented on film. The DVD could’ve used a commentary track or a longer behind-the-scenes featurette, but Docurama should most certainly be praised for letting small pictures like this one find an audience.
The Film: Rating: 
The DVD: Rating: 
