Even at a fleet 94 minutes, this infamous 2006 documentary feels overlong and rather padded despite the visceral shock of witnessing a man throwing himself off the Golden Gate Bridge. This wide-angle, long-distance shot opens Eric Steel's oddly uninvolving study of the twenty-four people who decided to use the fatalistic landmark to end their lives in 2004. Twenty-three succeeded, and Steel's multiple camera set-up captured most of them. In his eerie film, he focuses on a handful of the victims and lets the grieving families speak about them. Apparently, they were unaware that the filmmaker had the footage in his possession, a deliberate decision in that Steel did not want to encourage any further suicide attempts due to the film. At the same time, there is something undeniably exploitative about his approach.
Although the images on the bridge are startling with a sense of foreboding that I personally found unbearable, the interviews with the friends and relatives are not all that engaging probably because their comments start to feel repetitive no matter whom the victim is. In attempting to capture the human spirit in crisis, especially with the presence of Alex Heffes' ("Dear Frankie") melancholic music to underscore the shots, Steel maintains a perspective that feels too myopic since the testimonies in themselves cannot give the full story behind the motivations of the so-called jumpers. Consequently, there is no palpable sense of intimacy with the victims. Moreover, Steel consciously avoids contextual discussions with city officials or psychiatric professionals. They could have lent a broader perspective on the issue, especially when it comes to the constant debate over installing suicide barriers.
The one exception is Kevin Hines, a young man with bipolar disorder who was the only survivor in 2004. Only he is able to describe what it was like to have jumped off the bridge. He survived because he decided to shift feet-first when he regretted his decision in mid-jump. The most disheartening aspect of Hines' account is how he gave obvious signs of his hopelessness to indifferent passers-by for forty minutes only to be accosted by a German tourist to take a picture. The 2007 DVD offers a making-of featurette which provides Steel's perspective on the film, a valuable extra since he is absent in the documentary itself. He and his crew are interviewed to elaborate on their experiences in filming the suicide attempts. There is also a PSA featuring Hines for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Although the images on the bridge are startling with a sense of foreboding that I personally found unbearable, the interviews with the friends and relatives are not all that engaging probably because their comments start to feel repetitive no matter whom the victim is. In attempting to capture the human spirit in crisis, especially with the presence of Alex Heffes' ("Dear Frankie") melancholic music to underscore the shots, Steel maintains a perspective that feels too myopic since the testimonies in themselves cannot give the full story behind the motivations of the so-called jumpers. Consequently, there is no palpable sense of intimacy with the victims. Moreover, Steel consciously avoids contextual discussions with city officials or psychiatric professionals. They could have lent a broader perspective on the issue, especially when it comes to the constant debate over installing suicide barriers.
The one exception is Kevin Hines, a young man with bipolar disorder who was the only survivor in 2004. Only he is able to describe what it was like to have jumped off the bridge. He survived because he decided to shift feet-first when he regretted his decision in mid-jump. The most disheartening aspect of Hines' account is how he gave obvious signs of his hopelessness to indifferent passers-by for forty minutes only to be accosted by a German tourist to take a picture. The 2007 DVD offers a making-of featurette which provides Steel's perspective on the film, a valuable extra since he is absent in the documentary itself. He and his crew are interviewed to elaborate on their experiences in filming the suicide attempts. There is also a PSA featuring Hines for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.