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Film focuses on former Eupora student, family
By Russell Hood
The Webster Progress-Times
An award-winning documentary that chronicles the story of a troubled young boy then attending school in Eupora and his family premieres next week on television.
"A Boy's Life" first airs Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on HBO as an "American Undercover" special with additional showings at various times through March 31. The 77-minute film is rated TV14 for adult content.
"A Boy's Life" was directed and co-produced by Rory Kennedy, co-founder of Moxie Firecracker Films, an independent documentary production company. It was a 2003 Tribeca Film Festival selection and received the Best Documentary prize at the 2003 Woodstock Film Festival. An Internet Web site explains that when the director, who is the youngest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, first visited Eupora to explore how social services interact with children who suffer from mental illness, she discovered the compelling case of 7-year-old Robert Oliver
Robert had been diagnosed with a variety of personality and behavioral disorders and prescribed numerous medications. He and his younger brother were then being raised by their grandmother, Anna Threadgill. The film shows Robert's mother, Robanna Fason, then 22, making frequent visits as she tries to get her life back on track.
"Over the course of two years, (Kennedy) followed Robert and his family, shedding light on how the day-to-day behavior of a young boy has been dangerously affected by the emotional dysfunction of the very people who love him most - his mother and grandmother," according to another Web site.
After being transferred to Eupora Elementary School, however, changes in Robert's behavior become apparent. He begins to excel, blossoming into an honor roll student and Boy Scout.
One review states that the dichotomy between Robert's success at school and trouble at home quickly raises flags with Robert's teacher, Emmy Long; principal, Vicky Beckham, both since retired; and therapist, Dr. Virginia Fee, a Mississippi State psychology professor from West Point; as well as with the Department of Health and Human Services.
Reviewer Mary Kerr of Silverdocs.com writes: "Along the way, a new hypothesis begins to emerge as to the real cause of Robert's 'mental disorder.' The story becomes more clear (and truly bewildering) when Robert is accused by his grandmother of violently beating her, yet he has no recollection of the event. The incapacitated grandmother begrudgingly fades into the background when her daughter comes back into the picture to help care for Robert and his brother.
"Kennedy uses her skills as a documentarian to let the story naturally unfold on its own, leaving the viewer to answer this complex riddle. Robert's mother also shows a new sense of responsibility and is given the chance to take the boys back into her custody, where Robert continues to flourish. There is not an end to this story yet - only hope for a bright young boy who once didn't have a chance."
A family member confirmed this week that Robert, now 12, and his 9-year-old brother still live with their mother on Bluff Springs Road in Choctaw County. Robert now attends Ackerman Elementary School, where he is in the sixth grade.
These are some excerpts from Internet reviews and articles about the documentary:
� "Kennedy directs this documentary with real dramatic flair. 'A Boy's Life' is in some ways a puzzling mystery, a work of forensic filmmaking with the documentarian taking on the role of detective. The question at the heart of this compelling mystery is how there can be two diametrically opposed Roberts: 'School Robert,' as his principal calls him, and 'Home Robert." Is Robert just a crazy boy with a split personality? Or does something else bring about the Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation in him?
"By piecing together evidence from various sources, Kennedy allows a complete and fascinating picture to emerge. Roles shift, assumptions are shattered - and, surprisingly, impossibility gives way to genuine hope."
"What begins as a story of horror and abuse ends with uplift when one concerned teacher makes Robert her personal crusade. A cautionary tale on welfare reform, rural poverty, mental illness and the underfunding of social services in Republican American, 'A Boy's Life' astounds throughout."
"As Robert is 'rescued' from his family, and begins to thrive in school, the film makes a strong case for intervention on the part of educators, and speaks to the innate, unique talents we possess, if given a chance to use them."
"Filled with gripping twists and turns, 'A Boy's Life' is ultimately a journey to discovery and triumph."
"What emerges is a hopeful exploration of a harmful family legacy, and a powerful testimony to the battles between nature versus nurture."
"A complicated story of intergenerational abuse in a family beaten down by crushing poverty and a secret history of mental illness."
"This Mississippi-set film runs the gamut of Southern white-trash stereotypes ... yet somehow retains respect, even affection, for its characters. ... Our impression of each changes in the course of the film, so drastically, in fact, that this documentary almost takes on the proportions of a work of gothic fiction."
Review by "Dalawsta" of www. iofilm.co.uk: "If it weren't for the fact that 'A Boy's Life' is set in the bedrock of white-trash Mississippi, this would be no more than an extended social services report.
"The first thing you notice is the elongated Southern drawls of their 'You-all-this, you-all-that' style of monologue. ... You see little Robert on a hyper streak, tearing around the house, only to be calmed by his gran showing him how to load a revolver - one of a stash of six guns.
"Is this satire, or a serious documentary? A bit of both, I guess. ... The end result is hardly a surprise and the subject matter less than novel. This is not going to raise the profile of small-town Mississippi. But then again, with behavior such as this, they can hardly complain about bad press."
Darren D'Addario: "Is Robert as profoundly troubled as he appears? Or is he a victim of Munchausen syndrome? By the film's end, the uncomfortable answers become clear and add an unexpected depth to what otherwise would have been a typical socially conscious chronicle."
Copyright � 2005 Webster Progress Times