“An Unreasonable Man”

Some people never will forgive Ralph Nader for 2000, when he ran for president and, in their view, spoiled Al Gore's bid for the White House.

In the process, others believe, Nader spoiled his own legacy as a tireless, selfless crusader for the public good.

Determining what filmmakers Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan believe is more difficult.

Their documentary, "An Unreasonable Man," comes to praise Nader, not to bury him. After all, Mantel used to work with the guy -- and turns up as one of the movie's many talking heads.

Another talking head, broadcaster Phil Donahue, notes the "Shakespearean" dimensions of Nader's decision to run for president -- and how it might overshadow his achievements as a consumer advocate and citizen activist.

Yet it's that other towering British playwright, George Bernard Shaw, who provides "An Unreasonable Man" with its title -- and guiding philosophy.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself," Shaw wrote in "Man and Superman." "Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

The documentary begins with Nader's arguably unreasonable responses to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, when he decides that America's two-party system has been broken -- and he's just the man to fix it.

How he got to be that man sparks the documentary's first, and better, half, which traces Nader's emergence -- first by exposing the design flaws that made the Chevrolet Corvair "Unsafe at Any Speed," then as the leader of "Nader's Raiders."

Unlike many '60s activists, these young idealists had no interest in tearing down America's political system, trying instead to make the system live up to the nation's underlying principles.

For a time, it all worked. Seat belts and air bags in cars, safer food, cleaner air and water, job safety, consumer protection -- these were achievements any president would have envied, as one talking head observes.

Except that Nader had no interest in running for president. He said so on "The Mike Douglas Show" in 1972 -- with co-hosts John Lennon and Yoko Ono nodding in approval.

After the Reagan revolution, however, things changed. And so had Nader's view on becoming a political candidate.

That leads to the documentary's second -- and much draggier -- half, which intercuts campaign footage with comments on it spanning the political spectrum.

A successful politician understands the art of compromise. Nader's uncompromising nature not only doomed him to failure but alienated many true believers.

Their tit-for-tat debate degenerates into a spin cycle all its own, with the pro-and-con comments transforming the movie into a cinematic tennis match, complete with serve-and-volley monotony.

By the time the final credits roll, accompanied by a rousing, soulful rendition of "Stand up, stand up, you've been sitting way too long," you're tempted to shout "Amen" -- but not for the reasons the filmmakers intend.

As for Nader himself, he claims not to care about his personal legacy, only "about how much justice is advanced in America and our world day after day."

Whether it wants to or not, "An Unreasonable Man" prompts us to ponder whether, like the system he's been working to change, Nader's actions truly live up to his ideals.