Evelyn

I happened upon this as a Netflix suggestion and oh my gosh, I was gripped from the start. Mental illness and suicide are never easy subjects to discuss, let alone invite the world into your pain. This film was real and tender and intensely gracious in its message of profound grief and deeply felt loss within a family. Powerful reminder of how our lives touch others.

Powerful heartfelt trauma of a family dealing with tragedy. Fabulous film of a courageous way to cope with loss. A must watch.

My love and deep respect to all involved.

As Netflix describes this documentary, it is truly emotional from beginning to end. In the beginning we find out that the son and brother of a British family committed suicide 13 years earlier. The movie is not only about remembering and honouring Evelyn, who took his own life, but showing the long struggle of the family - especially Evelyn's siblings - and how coping with such an enormous loss seems to be almost impossible for the people who loved him the most. This movie is a journey from fear, silence and maybe even denial to something that slowly develops into acceptance, talking and coping with the loss. Apart from the camera work that was from time to time very poor, and therefore took much more space in the film than it should have , the movie is so beautiful and painful one will not easily forget about Evelyn and his family. The viewer is being reminded of all the good that Evelyn brought to people's lives as well as the agony he left behind. There's a bittersweet balance between these two perspectives in this film. It is also acknowledged - both during and after the movie - how sadly common suicides are and how the stigma should be reduced. Talking about suicide and personal experiences around the subject is brilliantly being "passed on" to the viewer as something that should and needs to be done. "Being weak is ok" seems to be one of the mottos of the movie - and that is a wonderful way to send out support to other people who might be going through the same thing in their lives and/or social circles.

The film tells the story of the director's younger brother, who suffered from schizophrenia and committed suicide years earlier. It follows his family as they, after years of not talking about it, resolve to open up and let their dead loved one back into their lives. They do this while camping and hiking through various beautiful parts of the British countryside.

There's a lot here most people will be able to identify with. How we refuse to talk about difficult subjects, when really talking's what we need most. How difficult death and grief are to deal with. And also how blame and guilt can linger after a person's suicide, however unwarranted those emotions may be.

I found some of the film difficult to watch, purely because it's such a real, personal story. And also because the family in question is so genuinely lovely that I just didn't want to see them in pain. But ultimately the film is heart-warming as well as sad. I would recommend watching it to anyone who's struggling to cope with the suicide of someone they love.

This show for families in agony of death is a PERFECT 10. I am not even reading the other reviews in fear one could upset me. I usually feel that hard stabbing critics usually don't have pumping hearts anyway. They are usually robot hearts, made of steel. Without feelings. Or "way out there" and can't relate to normal humans. The love, fear, pits in stomachs, don't talk about it, it won't exist, just saying the name is so real. There were so many aspects of this film, anyone in death crisis can relate to. I truly thank you from the top, the middle and bottom of my broken heart for this film. It sure helped me.