The film is also undeniably compelling. Morris does an excellent job of crafting a narrative out of the footage he's gathered, which aside from archival footage is comprised entirely of Rumsfeld, alone, in a chair, talking to the director. It's mostly biographical in structure, taking the viewer through the serpentine path of Rumsfeld's career. As a younger viewer, the man's presence through thirty years of American politics was fascinating, seeing the myriad familiar faces playing musical chairs with positions of power, especially coming from the man himself.

Because it's Rumsfeld himself that makes the film so captivating. Whatever your opinion of the man, he's a commanding presence, able to tell a compelling story, and, more importantly, able to construct compelling arguments. It's hard to question the earnestness of his desire to prevent what he calls a "lack of imagination" from dooming his country to another tragic disaster, while at the same time, his knowing, intimidating smile in the face of his own failures, or the failures of those around him, can at times approach unsettling. I find myself curious how I would respond had I never heard of the man, or been aware of his reputation. Would I have been won over by his charm? His calm demeanor and his steely insistence that he's been right all along?

And, indeed, when it comes to confronting his own failures, the false belief sold to the American public that Iraq was harboring WMDs, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, and others, he is fascinatingly incapable of even agreeing that such things occurred. He selectively remembers, or forgets, or retroactively changes his mind about his own motivations or the motivations of his country. He makes snide, sarcastic remarks. He brow-beats. He rephrases questions so thoroughly as to remove from them all meaning. Can it be frustrating to watch? Perhaps. But it's also a brilliant portrait of a real, complex, extremely thoughtful human-being dealing with his own legacy, and that it happens in front of a camera is absolutely thrilling.

At the conclusion of the film, Morris, whose questions are rarely heard during the course of the movie, asks Rumsfeld why he's doing this. "Why are you talking to me?"

Rumsfeld barely considers the question, making the sort of face you make when someone is wasting your time. A carefully constructed expression, displayed to the press countless times.