Reid Davenport’s groundbreaking doc “I Didn’t See You There,” which explored how disabled people are often seen but never heard — was either shot hand-held from his wheelchair or mounted on it — eventually winning him the well-deserved Directing Award at the 2022 Sundance. With “Life After” Davenport pledges to continue his conquest with the invisible, and in this specific case going into a much darker corner of the ableism that clogs the representation of disability on the celluloid.
Taking the mysterious story of Elizabeth Bouvia, a disabled woman whose decision to have “the right to die” in a much-publicized 1983 trial, Davenport is again seen taking his camera as a weapon to marry his approach of representation with a more covert political angle. The result is a constantly engaging, moving, and personal look at the numerous cracks in the healthcare and bureaucratic system.
‘Assisted dying’ from my very myopic vision doesn’t necessarily feel like a wrong cause. Allowing a person in pain to end their life on their terms with dignity is something I agree with. However, when ‘assisted dying’ is cushioned with ableism; allowing it to be used as a last resort for disabled people, just because the state can’t provide them the aid they need is a major, major issue that needs to be addressed right away.
The documentary follows two parallel narratives — one that takes an investigative approach to Elizabeth Bouvia’s story after she disappeared from the limelight – Davenport digs into every possible breadcrumb he could find to understand what happened to the woman. The other plotline features him interviewing people who have been affected or are opting for the state-sponsored ‘assisted dying’ method – specifically digging into the unprecedented rise in disabled people dying prematurely due to the Canadian government’s wobbly policy named MAID (Medical Aid in Dying).
In his quest to find the truth about Bouvia, we see Davenport, skimming through all that’s left of her. His approach here is frantic because it feels pretty personal to him. The idea of making the extremely political personal, while being involved directly in the narrative is what makes “Life After” so unique. The mystery surrounding Bouvia, also makes the documentary extremely compelling; at least for the first leg of this brave little film. Among the many stories that eventually come up, empathy is always on the forefront, and when Davenport eventually gets to the idea of how precious life is – all the more for people who are often considered burdens, the autonomy of whose life is slowly slipping away from their own hand – it’s urgency feels more palpable.
When I say brave I mean that the filmmaker is meeting two powerful bodies – the healthcare system and the bureaucratic system head-on; trying to hold them responsible for overlooking how their inabilities and policies might not be well sorted out afterall. “Life After” thus becomes a key exploration of the value of life itself.
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