You See Me 2017
Distributed by Good Docs
Produced by Linda J. Brown and Rebecca Louisell
Directed by Linda J. Brown
Streaming, 72 mins
General Adult
Family Relations; Psychology
Date Entered: 02/03/2020
Reviewed by Kay Hogan Smith, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lister Hill Library of the Health SciencesLeo Tolstoy proposed in Anna Karenina that, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” That may be true, however a common thread in the story of many unhappy families is that of unresolved trauma and mental health issues on the part of one or more family members.
The documentary You See Me is an unflinchingly honest, sensitive dive into producer/director Linda Brown’s family dysfunction arising from her father’s latent depression and anger. The family’s, and the father’s, difficulties are revealed after a lifetime of denial and a “code of silence” on the occasion of her dad’s devastating stroke and subsequent rehabilitation struggles during his retirement.
This is an intimate story, eloquently articulated on film through an interweaving series of home movie clips from the family archives and current documentary and interviews. In the process, this personal story embraces universal truths of unhappy families everywhere regarding the cycles of rejection and abuse, depression, and the imperative pursuit of love and forgiveness. Highly recommended, especially for audiences interested in family dynamics and mental health.