David & Me

This documentary film was very interesting. My only problem with it is that the story at the heart of this documentary only began after the first 20 minutes. The reason why I say this is because the filmmaker, Ray Klonsky, spends the first 20 minutes trying to draw parallels between himself and David McCallum that are not there. Then he peppers the documentary throughout with such comparisons. They could not be more different. Ray even says himself, "I'm not tough." However, if this was used as an attempt to soften David's image, it fell flat. Ultimately the viewer can remain thankful that his pen-pal friendship with David made a positive effect on his life regardless of the scale of trouble Ray in fact found himself in. This would be a grade A documentary otherwise. The interviews with Rubin Carter were insightful, he's a very smart man. It is very well put together and seamlessly transitions between the storytelling and the interviews. Regarding innocence...who knows? The documentary puts a very good case that the investigation had holes and the defense team did not use all the evidence available. The elephant in the room is David's confession. It is just brushed aside. Ray suggests 16 year olds would more readily admit to something, true or not. It is hard to fathom doing so, knowing you are looking jail directly in the eye. This documentary was ultimately a question mark, not an answer.

I watched this documentary at hot docs in Toronto, David McCullum was sitting among the audience and he was watching it for the first time in his life. The whole theatre was moved into tears as David walked up the stage for a QandA. It took the directors 8 years to make this film and it is definitely a commendable feat for their first documentary. This film can be showcased in schools and universities to motivate students to take their lives seriously as wrong choices can have very very bad repercussions. This film also portrays the undying human spirit and the constant belief in 'hope', it was the positive attitude that kept David from succumbing to pressure in prison for an alternate life. Worth a watch!

This documentary film was very interesting. My only problem with it is that the story at the heart of this documentary only began after the first 20 minutes. The reason why I say this is because the filmmaker, Ray Klonsky, spends the first 20 minutes trying to draw parallels between himself and David McCallum that are not there. Then he peppers the documentary throughout with such comparisons. They could not be more different. Ray even says himself, "I'm not tough." However, if this was used as an attempt to soften David's image, it fell flat. Ultimately the viewer can remain thankful that his pen-pal friendship with David made a positive effect on his life regardless of the scale of trouble Ray in fact found himself in. This would be a grade A documentary otherwise. The interviews with Rubin Carter were insightful, he's a very smart man. It is very well put together and seamlessly transitions between the storytelling and the interviews. Regarding innocence...who knows? The documentary puts a very good case that the investigation had holes and the defense team did not use all the evidence available. The elephant in the room is David's confession. It is just brushed aside. Ray suggests 16 year olds would more readily admit to something, true or not. It is hard to fathom doing so, knowing you are looking jail directly in the eye. This documentary was ultimately a question mark, not an answer.

I watched this documentary at hot docs in Toronto, David McCullum was sitting among the audience and he was watching it for the first time in his life. The whole theatre was moved into tears as David walked up the stage for a QandA. It took the directors 8 years to make this film and it is definitely a commendable feat for their first documentary. This film can be showcased in schools and universities to motivate students to take their lives seriously as wrong choices can have very very bad repercussions. This film also portrays the undying human spirit and the constant belief in 'hope', it was the positive attitude that kept David from succumbing to pressure in prison for an alternate life. Worth a watch!