...So Goes the Nation

From its riveting opening to its gripping conclusion, . . . So Goes the Nation is arguably the most intelligent, kinetic analysis of the modern election process since "The War Room."

Distinguishes itself from the recent glut of mediocre political documentaries by opting for nonpartisanship.

Documentarians Adam Del Deo and James Stern present a cogent and comprehensive postmortem of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio.

So Goes the Nation has no new conspiracy theories, settling instead for a meticulous examination of the two political parties' hellbent voter-seduction strategies, from demographic outreach to slam ads.

A clear-eyed and utterly ruthless dissection of the battle for Ohio in the months leading up to the 2004 presidential election.

The film's triple thesis is that elections are run badly, Democrats are often clueless and Republicans are clever. Maybe--but that still leaves too many unanswered questions.

Neither newly revelatory nor formally innovative.