The Final Year

The arbitrary time frame forces [Greg] Barker into a ceaseless chronology of foreign trips that frustrates any serious consideration of the team's successes (in Cuba and Iran) or failures (in Syria).

Unhappily, the "unprecedented access" afforded Greg Barker's often rudderless documentary largely consists of spin, pillow shots and political humblebragging. If you're hoping for Obama's very own West Wing spin-off, you'll soon be disappointed.

The deepest frustration is that Barker had seemingly unrestricted access to one of the most revolutionary and skilled White House offices of the postwar era, yet the end result is like condensing an entire season of The West Wing.

While these vignettes are fascinating, “The Final Year” lacks framework and context. The fly-on-the-wall perspective offers incredible details, but not the big picture.