A Boy's Life

by proxy is what should have been diagnosed if the grandmother had ever been taken to a competent psychiatrist.

This documentary is effective on many disturbing levels. Initially it seems Robanna is simply unwilling to care for her children, she is young, destitute. The conditions they live in in rural Mississippi are truly sad. Her mother "Memaw", cares for the children but has a particular obsession with the seven year old, Robert.

As the story develops, we see the conditions, and also the educator at Europa Elementary, concerned and upset for Roberts situation. He is a good student at school, but according to his grandmother, kills dogs and cats, and is an unmanageable raging child at home. We see how the system cannot in some cases help children in emotional danger, only actual physical danger.

The grandmother appears narcissistic, and becomes angry with her daughters nurse (Robanna has several medical issues, obesity, thyroid, etc.). Toward the latter part of the documentary, the grandmother is badly bruised with blood clots from supposedly having been kicked by Robert.

She is taken to the ER where she blames Robert. Eventually it is evident that the story was fabricated.

Fortunately, the children are returned to the custody of their natural mother, Robanna. The grandmother is now apparently confined to an institution for her psychological issues. Sad that Roberts life was not protected earlier, but Robanna had neither financial resources or education to get her mother to a psychiatrist. A sad commentary on real issues of poverty in America today. 9/10.

I watched this documentary twice. I cannot believe the Grandmother's behavior. I couldn't decide whether she was the one with the mental problems or if she was just a control freak. A little of both, I guess.

My compassion for this child brought me to tears. I cannot believe that an adult could be so emotionally abusive. Unfortunately, I was raised by the same kind of mother and I know how it feels. I have no sympathy for a grown woman who, in my opinion, beats herself about the legs and blames a 7 year old. Her daughter has obviously been just as emotionally abused and I hope gets help for herself.

Please update us on how Robert and his brother are doing. I pray that things have turned for the better.

I was beyond disturbed and upset by this documentary. You would have to be blind, deaf and dumb to not see the surroundings of Robert including his insane grandmother and bitter lazy fat mother were destroying that child's future to be a normal boy.

As we could see from how he behaved at school, and getting A's for his report card he is an intelligent child stuck in some hick moron's home. I felt so beyond sorry for this child and his poor little ignored brother it actually made me sick.

In a perfect world I would not let the grandmother and her daughter look after a rabbit let alone raise two children. They are the scum of the earth. Yes that is harsh, but it's a great argument for legal and safe abortion when 'these' types of people get pregnant. It's a vicious cycle that will never end until people start saying what everyone is afraid of hearing! But Robert exists and I am saddened he is still with those horrible horrible people. The best thing for that child and his brother is be taken away immediately.

Bless the school and teachers for being so wonderful, and also Dr Phee for doing her best.

Robert, a Mississippi 7 year old being raised by his grandmother, is victimized by his grandmother's Munchhausen by Proxy disorder- she attributes all manner of disturbed behavior to him and has him falsely medicated for psychiatric disorders that he doesn't have. His 20 year old mother struggles to regain custody of Robert and his younger sibling, Benjamin, both of whom were conceived when she was underage.

A chilling portrait of emotional and psychological child abuse. Rory Kennedy's film is terrific.

Fairly well done documentary about one southern family's life in the midst of poverty and psychological abuse. I rather enjoyed this movie, and found my self laughing at times during the opening half. Yet this is certainly not a comical movie. Early on some the characters acted so uniquely odd, so over the top "Southern", that it seemed to be staged. As the movie runs on, you realize that it is not the case. The things that seemed laughable early on, seem quite different at the movies end. The documentary looks in to several ills that seem to go hand in hand with poverty. It takes on more social problems, I imagine, than even the film makers expected. Nonetheless it gives us a snapshot, not always an objective one, at this family's life.