Image courtesy mostdangerousman.org.

Directors Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith take a personal perspective on an immortalized part of American history with their 2009 documentary “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.”

The film, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Academy Awards, presents the story of Daniel Ellsberg from the man himself. Ellsberg, noticeably aged but still possessing a sharp personality, explains how he transformed from a hawkish supporter of the Vietnam War to one of its most potent attackers.

Initially, he served under Robert McNamara, the secretary of defense during the presidencies of John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. As he explains early in the film, Ellsberg initially helped push for U.S. involvement in Vietnam, believing that his actions helped to protect democracy. After observing at the front lines of the war for two years as a civilian, however, he found that high-level political officials were blatantly lying to the American public, ignoring clear evidence that suggested the war was not going well.

This revelation followed Ellsberg when he returned to the U.S. to work for the RAND Corporation, a think tank that would compile the Pentagon Papers. These documents give a cold, unbiased history of the nation’s involvement in Vietnam, including information known by the presidency from Truman to Johnson. At the risk of losing his job and facing a lifetime in prison, Ellsberg photocopied the top secret documents and distributed them to several newspapers, most notably the New York Times and the Washington Post. His disregard for his own safety in defense of a principle had a major impact on serious issues of the time, according to the film: the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and the Supreme Court decision that the press serves an important role in the preservation of a democratic government.

The film provides a detailed account of this history, but it does so within the context of Ellsberg’s life. Ellsberg is the focus, not the events in which he played a part. Key aspects of his life and upbringing are teased out in interviews with him and those close to him, including his wife and son. Particular aspects of his personality – his love of the piano, magic tricks and bodysurfing, for instance – are brought up and related to the overarching historical context.

In one scene, Ellsberg looks up from the piano and explains to the off-camera interviewer that his mother wanted him to become a concert pianist. That dream ended when his mother and sister died in a car accident. That accident impressed upon young Ellsberg that even authoritative figures such as his father and, by correlation, the president could make a serious mistake by losing sight of risk. In such scenes, the film demonstrates to the viewer how individual moments in the man’s life led inevitably to his transformation.

As a documentary based on historical events, the film follows a format that should be familiar to anyone who has watched the History Channel on an idle Saturday. The interviews with Ellsberg and his contemporaries are the focal point of the narrative, combined with re-enactments, archival news footage and audio recordings of Nixon swearing at his aides. The film is reflective on the past, and as such it also includes perspectives from individuals who were at odds with Ellsberg, such as members of Nixon’s infamous “plumbers” and colleagues from the RAND Corporation who felt betrayed by Ellsberg’s leak.

The only awkward part of the film’s delivery is in the few scenes in which the recounting of events is accompanied by an animated re-enactment. The segments appear more light-hearted than other scenes, a feeling punctuated by the cartooniness of the animation, and they evoked laughter from the audience. The narrators chuckle a bit themselves, looking back at the past, but one cannot help but wonder how serious the events were at the time. In one such scene, for instance, Ellsberg and his children are photocopying the classified documents when two police officers knock at the door. Ellsberg can look back and laugh at it now, but at the time, he was surely terrified.

Toward the end of the documentary, the directors bring Ellsberg’s story into the context of the present day. They depict Ellsberg and his wife as staunch supporters of anti-war movements, particularly against the war in Iraq. Coupled with scenes of the past, the message is clear: Citizens must question their government and hold it accountable for its actions.

“The Most Dangerous Man in America” should appeal to those interested in history, and it offers enough human emotion to appeal to others, as well. It is currently playing at the Athens Film Festival and is showing at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, and 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 29, at the Athena Cinema.

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“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”

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Genre: Documentary

Speakeasy rating: B