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edwin-wks's rating
This is an 8 for me because rarely has a documentary been more revealing through what it does not elucidate, namely the deep insecurities of Bryan Johnson and all the things he hides from the world, including himself - his shadow self. "I'm a disaster of an intelligent being..." and "I don't fear death..." were his words in this documentary, whose title reads, "The man who wants to live forever". This is a person full of contradictions and unaware of his blind spots. He might succeed in being the first man to live beyond 120 years of age, but die eventually he will.
The origin of Johnson's death anxiety began in his burnout in his mid- to late-thirties, which brought him face-to-face with his shadow self and led him to question his existence and relationship with the LDS church. Perhaps he realised there has to be more to life than being stressed out 24/7 as a tech entrepreneur, and he found no pleasure in his roles as a husband, a father, a son and a Mormon. At the peak of his existential crisis, he experienced severe depression and suicidal ideation. It was a complete obliteration of the self that he had known.
But who was Bryan Johnson if he wasn't a Mormon, a husband, a father, a son and a tech entrepreneur? His identity was built on those very foundations, but they were also the building blocks to his despair. He felt he had no other choice but to leave the church and his community, and he probably feared the punishment of hell that is promised to the unfaithful like him. That could be the beginning of his obsession with extending his life as best he could, so that he can delay purgatory.
All this is merely my hypothesis, of course. For a documentary so fixated with longevity, it was telling that the focus was purely on physical health, with absolutely no exploration of mental well-being, other than a brief acknowledgement of the importance of social connection and community by Johnson himself. It seemed like a deliberate effort on his part not to discuss his burnout, depression, exit from Mormonism and its repercussions because he desired to avoid painful emotions and memories.
The Don't Die enterprise is fuelled by Johnson's need to carve out a new identity and fulfill his fantasy of cheating death at all cost, while avoiding the difficult topics of self-fidelity, self-compassion and self-acceptance (all three of which Johnson is no closer to achieving). Living a healthy lifestyle through minimising stress, eating nutritious food, exercising regularly and having adequate sleep is no news to anyone in the 21st century. Unlike Johnson and his acolytes, many in the world simply don't have such luxury because they are busy working in terrible conditions in poor countries, making goods for those like him and his followers, who never seem content no matter how much they already have. As guaranteed as his mortality is, Johnson can never outrun his shadow.
The origin of Johnson's death anxiety began in his burnout in his mid- to late-thirties, which brought him face-to-face with his shadow self and led him to question his existence and relationship with the LDS church. Perhaps he realised there has to be more to life than being stressed out 24/7 as a tech entrepreneur, and he found no pleasure in his roles as a husband, a father, a son and a Mormon. At the peak of his existential crisis, he experienced severe depression and suicidal ideation. It was a complete obliteration of the self that he had known.
But who was Bryan Johnson if he wasn't a Mormon, a husband, a father, a son and a tech entrepreneur? His identity was built on those very foundations, but they were also the building blocks to his despair. He felt he had no other choice but to leave the church and his community, and he probably feared the punishment of hell that is promised to the unfaithful like him. That could be the beginning of his obsession with extending his life as best he could, so that he can delay purgatory.
All this is merely my hypothesis, of course. For a documentary so fixated with longevity, it was telling that the focus was purely on physical health, with absolutely no exploration of mental well-being, other than a brief acknowledgement of the importance of social connection and community by Johnson himself. It seemed like a deliberate effort on his part not to discuss his burnout, depression, exit from Mormonism and its repercussions because he desired to avoid painful emotions and memories.
The Don't Die enterprise is fuelled by Johnson's need to carve out a new identity and fulfill his fantasy of cheating death at all cost, while avoiding the difficult topics of self-fidelity, self-compassion and self-acceptance (all three of which Johnson is no closer to achieving). Living a healthy lifestyle through minimising stress, eating nutritious food, exercising regularly and having adequate sleep is no news to anyone in the 21st century. Unlike Johnson and his acolytes, many in the world simply don't have such luxury because they are busy working in terrible conditions in poor countries, making goods for those like him and his followers, who never seem content no matter how much they already have. As guaranteed as his mortality is, Johnson can never outrun his shadow.
Take My Hand is supposedly one man's ode (writer/director, Raftopoulos) to his MS-stricken wife (Claire Jensz), but it also spends an inordinate and distasteful amount of time demonising Jensz's late husband, who is portrayed in the movie as a neglectful and distant husband and father consumed by his work and social engagements. The late Mark Pennycook died of a heart attack at 48, while his movie counterpart dies in a car accident following a heated argument with his wife. It is incongruous how Raftopoulos altered the cause of death, but not the bad husband characterisation, even if it were true. It seems extremely disrespectful to Pennycook and I wonder what his family has to say about it.
It is over an hour into the 100-min movie before Laura (real life Jensz) rekindles her relationship with Michael (real life Raftopoulos). Taking a chronological perspective made the story plodding and I fast forwarded in some parts to arrive at the point where she relocates her family back to Australia, following her losses. Personally, I would begin the story at her late husband's funeral, flashing back to the events before his death, including her MS diagnosis and getting fired. The move back to Australia would follow, succeeded by scenes of her running into her old flame and cutting back to their first meet when they were just teenagers.
But what would I know? I'm not the multi-millionaire who listed my Byron Bay house for 25 million dollars. Many people suffer from MS and I know some of them personally. It's difficult to feel sorry for an extremely well-to-do family when most people with MS are doing it much tougher without the resources that these two possess.
It is over an hour into the 100-min movie before Laura (real life Jensz) rekindles her relationship with Michael (real life Raftopoulos). Taking a chronological perspective made the story plodding and I fast forwarded in some parts to arrive at the point where she relocates her family back to Australia, following her losses. Personally, I would begin the story at her late husband's funeral, flashing back to the events before his death, including her MS diagnosis and getting fired. The move back to Australia would follow, succeeded by scenes of her running into her old flame and cutting back to their first meet when they were just teenagers.
But what would I know? I'm not the multi-millionaire who listed my Byron Bay house for 25 million dollars. Many people suffer from MS and I know some of them personally. It's difficult to feel sorry for an extremely well-to-do family when most people with MS are doing it much tougher without the resources that these two possess.
David (Eisenberg) books a trip to Poland to join a Holocaust tour with his cousin Benji (Culkin), using funds left to them by their recently deceased grandmother. He hopes that reconnecting with their grandmother's Polish roots will stir a disconsolate Culkin out of a severe depression. However, A Real Pain is not about their relationship with their grandmother or even about the Holocaust specifically. At closer glance, it is a tale of two cousins, who grew up like brothers, but drifted apart in their adulthood. It is the bittersweet story about the importance of family and the paradoxical damage that families inflict.
According to David, their grandmother once said that first generation migrant Jews had to take on any job available, so that their children can be educated and become white collar workers, whose children can now afford to live in their parents' basement and smoke pot. We see the stark contrast between David, who has a successful career in digital marketing and lives in an upscale apartment with his wife and young child, and Benji, who is the aforementioned child living in his mom's basement with no discernible life goals.
Despite his cousin's aimlessness in life, David envies Benji's straight talking and adventuresome personality, and effortless likability, while selectively ignoring Benji's inherent self-sabotage. Less apparent but palpable is Benji's resentment of David's success, which causes him to withdraw from their relationship and blame the distance on David's busy life because it reminds him of his own failure to achieve anything in life.
Eisenberg's writing gives us enough details, while allowing the audience to fill in the blanks. To me, this is about the pressures of living up to expectations and the consequences of not doing so. David manages to meet the expectations of his community and second generation parents, but takes medication to manage his anxiety because he has the relentless dread that the wheels will come off the moment he takes his foot off the pedal.
Instead of striving like David, Benji has long since given up on himself, as have his parents, because he is unable to keep up for reasons unknown. I imagine that Benji is someone with ADHD and misunderstood his entire life by everyone around him. The inability to achieve what is expected of him by his family and community left him feeling defeated and unloved. His grandmother might have been the only figure who believed in him and her death cast him adrift in a sea of hopelessness.
According to David, their grandmother once said that first generation migrant Jews had to take on any job available, so that their children can be educated and become white collar workers, whose children can now afford to live in their parents' basement and smoke pot. We see the stark contrast between David, who has a successful career in digital marketing and lives in an upscale apartment with his wife and young child, and Benji, who is the aforementioned child living in his mom's basement with no discernible life goals.
Despite his cousin's aimlessness in life, David envies Benji's straight talking and adventuresome personality, and effortless likability, while selectively ignoring Benji's inherent self-sabotage. Less apparent but palpable is Benji's resentment of David's success, which causes him to withdraw from their relationship and blame the distance on David's busy life because it reminds him of his own failure to achieve anything in life.
Eisenberg's writing gives us enough details, while allowing the audience to fill in the blanks. To me, this is about the pressures of living up to expectations and the consequences of not doing so. David manages to meet the expectations of his community and second generation parents, but takes medication to manage his anxiety because he has the relentless dread that the wheels will come off the moment he takes his foot off the pedal.
Instead of striving like David, Benji has long since given up on himself, as have his parents, because he is unable to keep up for reasons unknown. I imagine that Benji is someone with ADHD and misunderstood his entire life by everyone around him. The inability to achieve what is expected of him by his family and community left him feeling defeated and unloved. His grandmother might have been the only figure who believed in him and her death cast him adrift in a sea of hopelessness.