Baltimore Mayor Is “The Body Politic”

The Body Politic (Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough, 2023) 4 out of 5 stars

In The Body Politic, director Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough makes his feature debut with a documentary about the early days of Baltimore’s current mayor, Brandon Scott. It’s no easy task running a metropolis that has long struggled with the related issues of poverty and crime. Thanks to David Simon’s five-season HBO series The Wire—now two decades old—Baltimore has become an avatar for all the ailments of America’s urban landscapes. The truth is far more complicated, but there’s no doubt that Charm City poses challenges for any leader.

Prior to Scott’s ascension, two previous mayors—Sheila Dixon and Catherine Pugh—were both convicted of financial crimes. As was profiled in the 2018 documentary Charm City, Scott while city councilman projected the exact opposite of impropriety. Sincere and idealistic, he represented a new generation that was quite clear-eyed about the problems his native town faced. He also, in that movie, understood that policing is not the answer to all of society’s ills. We ask too much of law enforcement, and then are surprised when officers don’t live up to expectations.

Goodenough, working with a team that incudes local cinematographer John Benam (Assassins), begins the narrative in 2019, giving us the down-and-dirty stats. Baltimore has averaged over 300 homicides per year for the past 30 years. In 2019, there were 348 murders, more than in New York City. We then cut to February, 2020, with Brandon Scott the youngest-ever City Council president. We know what happened next. Thank you, Covid.

But Scott wins the democratic primary that spring, which in this town means you’ll win the general election, as well. And off he goes, full of hope, though not of the false variety. What follows is a chronicle of his first few years in office and a bracing, intimate look at the quotidian tasks of a mid-size burg’s chief executive.

To the great benefit of The Body Politic, neither director nor protagonist seem opposed to showing the good and the bad, the triumphs and failures. Watching the film now is quite different, actually, than in 2023 (where I briefly reviewed it out of DC/DOX), given that Scott has since won reelection to a second term. Clearly, despite his rocky start (as shown here), enough residents of Baltimore feel he is doing his best. Either that or they take the long view, understanding that no one person can solve all issues in a single term. In any case, Scott is still very much around.

He did solid work, reducing crime and homicides, working with community leaders and police, and it’s all captured for us to see. More importantly, as far as the movie goes, we have access to the inner operations of the administration, which fascinates. Democracy and proper governance, it turns out, are not only requirements of a healthy society but make for excellent cinema, too.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.