REVIEW: Final Year bids a fond, fairweather farewell to former US President Barack Obama

REVIEW: The Final Year is a moderately engrossing documentary chronicle of US President Barack Obam’s last months in the big chair of the Oval Office. And then came Trump!

THE FINAL YEAR (M)

Rating: three stars (3 out of 5)

Director: Greg Barker (Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden)

Starring: Barack Obama, John Kerry, Samantha Power, Ben Rhodes.

The end of a smooth era hits a rough final destination

Donald Trump may only have served as US President for a year so far.

Nevertheless, the relatively stable days of Barack Obama’s White House tenure feel so, so long ago.

This is the overwhelming vibe driven home by The Final Year, a mildly engrossing documentary portrait of Obama’s last 365 days in the Oval Office.

L-R: Secretary of State John Kerry and US President Barack Obama in a scene from documentary film The Final Year. The film follows the Obama administration's last 12 months in office

For any US President certain to be exiting the job, the closing year is all about securing a lasting legacy while serving the daily needs of the nation.

Obama turns out to be no different to any other of his predecessors in the same situation. Therefore The Final Year is content to simply plug into the admittedly electrifying charisma of its subject, safe in the knowledge that so many of his admirers will get a buzz they are after from the proximity to their ideological idol.

Obama is great company throughout the film, even if he sometimes does give off the contradictory air of a man carefully keeping his distance from those colleagues closest to him.

L-R: Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, Secretary of State John Kerry and US President Barack Obama in a scene from documentary film The Final Year. The film follows the Obama administration's last 12 months in office

You could almost call this a laidback hangout movie, were it not for the gripping scenes in the final minutes, where Obama and his entourage are stunned by the ominous electoral arrival of Trump (and the grim realisation he will soon be undoing much of their good work).

The Final Year is now showing exclusively at the ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square, Melbourne until February 13th. Other states to follow. Check your local cinema guides.

Originally published as REVIEW: Final Year bids a fond, fairweather farewell to former US President Barack Obama