Indie Gems: Audrie & Daisy

Stop the shame.

This documentary takes the look at the lives of two teenage girls after they've suffered sexual assaults. Audrie,  so ashamed by being taken advantage of and having photos of the assault shared all over her school commits suicide 10 days later. Daisy, goes to the police and reports the crime, however her rapists walk and the town sheriff seems more concerned about preserving their "innocence" then giving the poor 14 year old girl justice. Sadly, these are only two of the thousands of cases like this. And watching what happens to them makes you understand why so many don't report assaults. Because no one stands up for them.

An earlier doc, The Hunting Ground explored the same issue with college campuses. While Audrie and Daisy take on high school, they don't feel repetitive at all. I'm glad more and more documentaries like this exist. I wish they had been around when I was in high school myself. This was hard to watch. It's hard seeing Audrie's mother talking about cutting her daughter down after she found her while you see a photo of her holding Audrie as a baby. What parent imagines they'll have to go through that? It's hard seeing all the disgusting things Daisy's classmates said about her online, and to listen to her small town sheriff explain that girls can be liars. It's hard, but necessary. 

The only issues I had with the doc itself is sometimes the timeline was confusing. A lot of the people being interviewed's hairstyles change so drastically you know it takes place in a different year, but they don't explain when they take place.

The final frame of this will probably reduce you to tears, but a doc like this should be seen by everyone. Especially I think by parents, who need to have some serious discussions with their children as they grow up about

Grade: B+

Watched on: Netflix Instant

Memorable Quote: "The words of our enemies are not as awful as the silence of our friends." - Daisy Coleman