As I mentioned earlier this week I saw the new doc Prodigal Sons, a film which touched on many fascinating subjects but whose overall theme was that of familial relationships. The doc's director/producer/editor and overall main subject is Kimberly Reed - a New York based transgendered magazine editor/filmmaker who is about to attend her high school reunion in Helena, Montana - a place she has yet to be as Kim, and no longer Paul McKerrow, who in high school was captain of the football team and object of many teenage girls' desires.
While the documentary begins as a way for Kim to process and accept her feelings about facing her former classmates (who welcome her warmly), the film refocuses on Kim's attempt to reconcile with her older, adopted brother Marc. The McKerrow family has 3 boys: Marc, Paul, and the youngest Todd. Paul and Todd - and later Kim and Todd - have always had a strong relationship, but both have strained relationships with Marc. The doc makes it plain that their rivalry stems from the fact that Marc - though 11 months older than Kim - was held back a grade, and therefore, grew up side-by-side with Paul, thus graduating the same year. As we learn almost immediately, Marc has issues of his own in addition to his estranged relationship with Kim and his adoptive past. When Marc was 21, he was in a horrific car accident which resulted in brain damage and an eventual partial lobotomy. He goes through drastic mood swings which turn violent, and he often threatens suicide. At times the film becomes increasingly difficult to watch and you start to feel helpless knowing that this person is unwilling to accept help from the people who love him.
But things take a very fascinating turn once Marc discovers his biological familial lineage. He makes contact with his mother, Rebecca Welles, and soon learns that Rebecca is the daughter of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, making Marc the grandson of the two movie legends. While plans are in the works for Marc to meet Rebecca, she passes away before the reunion can occur. The son attends his birth mother's funeral, "meeting" his mother as she lays in her casket. Not long after all of this occurs, Marc becomes somewhat of a local celebrity, telling the story of his ancestry, and soon meets Oja Kodar - Orson Welles' companion upon his death in 1985. She invites Marc, his wife and daughter to Croatia to get to know a little something of his grandfather. Kim also takes the trip with Marc and documents this story, hoping that by embracing his famous lineage, Marc will be able to put his issues with Kim aside and move forward into a much healthier relationship.
I don't think I can say too much more without giving away all of Prodigal Sons. The film is a very low-budget doc which captures the unease of its subjects but also easily pulls its viewers into the story as it offers glimpses of much darker and complex relationships within the McKerrow clan. Kimberly Reed got much more than she bargained for when she embarked on this project, and I would be interested to find out how she has been doing since the film wrapped.
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