Review: This Much We Know

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Official synopsis: While investigating the suicide of Las Vegas teenager Levi Presley, a filmmaker (Lily Frances Henderson) uncovers the story of a city with the highest suicide rate in the country, and a nation scrambling to bury decades of nuclear excess in a nearby mountain.

I've been fortunate to get my hands on another documentary from a female filmmaker. Suicide is something that unfortunately everyone is dealing with more and more each year. You can tell right from the beginning that Lily cares deeply about this and like all of us, just wants answers.

Unfortunately This Much We Know ends up being the equivalent of falling down a rabbit hole. What starts as simply wanting to know why her friend died by suicide leads to some troubling statistics about Las Vegas having the highest suicide rate in the country, to the disturbing suicide of a teenager named Levi Presley to...nuclear waste?

It doesn't come together well. Lily is very passionate about her stance and that leads to some of the people she's interviewing to speak to her as if she's said something profoundly stupid when she's simply sharing what's on her mind. It's very awkward to watch. The parts I found most moving were when the focus was on Levi and his family. That's when the film is at its most engaging, though it's very heartbreaking to watch. 

Lily Henderson has a great voice for narration and I hope she can find a subject that is a bit more cohesive in the future. Per IMDb, it looks like she's directing another documentary specifically on the environmental part of this and I'm curious to see how that comes together. This one just didn't work for me. 

This Much We Know will begin its theatrical run on November 10th. 

Grade: C

Comments

  1. BirgitNovember 3, 2023 at 11:31 AM

    That's a shame because I can see the connection. We have no idea how our brains are affected by all this crap. Las Vegas is a gambling town and many commit suicide after they have gambled everything plus use credit and the credit of their spouse.i have spoken with many who were close to suicide because of their addiction. I work in Niagara Falls which has a casino and, apparently, once per week the police etc..fish someone out of the Niagara Gorge. It's not made public because it is a tourist area.very sad and now add the stupid social media etc...it becomes overwhelming foe them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 7, 2023 at 9:50 AM

      There's a statistic in this film where they say the suicide rate in Las Vegas isn't directly linked to gambling and that surprised me because one would assume it was. That's very sad about Niagara Falls. Though again, not too terribly surprising with a casino nearby.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99November 3, 2023 at 3:59 PM

    OK then. Suicide is an interesting subject although I think I would rather watch if it's told properly.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 7, 2023 at 9:49 AM

      I'm curious to see her next film as I feel like it won't be doing double duty like this one is.

      Delete

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