This quirky and visually surreal coming of age tale tackles heavy themes like suicide, adolescent angst, teenage rebellion and the hypnotic allure of technology and the way in which the media can influence today's youth. In an era when technology savvy teens are also wannabe auteurs, film obsessed teen Archie Williams announces that he will commit suicide on film for his media assignment. His announcement leads to a period of incarceration in the psychiatric hospital, and makes him the most talked about kid in school. His announcement also comes with plenty of baggage that he struggles to deal with in the lead up to the event. Although the film is dealing with grim subject matter, there is something life-affirming about it. Director David Lee Miller produced the film under the auspices of an organisation that tackles youth suicide prevention, and while it has an agenda to push it is never overtly hectoring or preachy in delivering its message. My Suicide is shot in faux documentary style using video and hand held camera. But there are also plenty of idiosyncratic stylistic touches, including clever animation sequences, cinematic references, frenetic editing and arresting visual gimmicks. Gabriel Sunday delivers a good performance as the lead role, a kind of 21st century Holden Caulfield, who documents his everyday journey through a challenging minefield of sex, drugs and adolescent angst. Prophetically, David Carradine appears in one of his last roles here, playing a film maker, poet and author who is Archie's main inspiration.
Review of My Suicide
