Before They Fall Off the Cliff 2003
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Art Holliday and Mark McBride
Directed by Art Holliday
VHS, color, 60 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Health Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work
Date Entered: 03/31/2005
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgIt is unfortunate that good intentions don’t make for good filmmaking. Before They Fall Off the Cliff tries to shed light on the problems associated with paranoid schizophrenia by focusing on the tragic death of a couple from Glendale, Missouri. Matt McBride stabbed his parents to death in a town that can’t remember its last murder. His brother Mark, a co-producer of the film, and sister Lisa are left with a brother who they knew was sick and not responsible, or even aware, of the events. The filming, editing, and graphics have a television broadcast look, probably due to director Art Holliday’s work as a news anchor and managing television editor. There is also a somewhat sensational and unnecessary focus on the minute-by-minute details of the stabbing, including how many knives were broken in the murder.
Matt was declared unfit for trial and has spent the years in institutions for the criminally insane. The scenes of his sister and brother visiting him there seem forced and staged. Matt is much more fortunate than many who end up on the streets, some killed or jailed for outbursts and confrontations. The good that comes from all of this is Missouri Senate Bill 884, a result of Mark’s activism. As his parents were murdered just after his brother was released from a much needed hospital stay, the bill makes it easier to commit mentally ill people when they are dangerous and in need of treatment.