Touches You

Purely Joyful Movie!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The underlying factor of this film is why was Diane Schuler using drugs/alcohol & self medicating? The film delves into details about Diane's childhood, such as home life, friends, school, but fails to search for details as to why she refused, for some time, to have needed dental work done, that caused the chronic pain leading her to self medicate this day & take 8 lives, including her own. There were dental records including pain medication(s) prescribed & mention of her leaving in the middle of a dental procedure. This is where the film should've focused, as they had focused on her home/work life as an adult/mother. The film tries to portray Diane as the second coming of Mother Teresa & deflects the blame on her husband, who's spent the aftermath making excuses & blaming everything/everyone but he & Diane. Diane was DUI at the time of the crash from alcohol/marijuana, self medicating for severe pain in the teeth/jaw/cheek. They portrayed Diane as a strong-willed leader at home/work, yet she repeatedly refused to have her dental issues resolved. This film should've been on Lifetime, not HBO. Lifetime, where women are always victims of men & never to blame.

Exploitative and pointlessThis movie is about a tragedy, a tragedy with NO answers, except selfish, disgusting behavior. That makes this movie pointless and exploitative to the family members left behind. Not surprisingly, the parents of the victims didn't't want to have anything to do with the filmmakers! They chose NOT to relive the worst days of their lives, for NOTHING!Diane's family uses these few hours to justify away her crimes. When medical evidence doesn't support their justifications, they come up with new ones. Someone needs to do an intervention on these people. Sometimes drugs and alcohol makes people do horrible things- deal with it! I also find this documentary exploitative to the first responders. This horrific scene profoundly affected those who helped immediately in the aftermath, both professional, and good samaritan alike. I think making good people relive this tragedy for nothing is disgusting. I love documentaries, but this is just TERRIBLE! I can't say more without including spoilers, but trust me, don't ruin your day for nothing.

I eagerly watched "Aunt Diane" because the story has troubled and fascinated me since it happened. As a psychotherapist (LCSW) and writer, I am often attracted to psychological events that are in some way out of the ordinary and involve something highly unexpected. In this case, besides the obvious emotional magnets, the hook is the seemingly straight-laced Super Mom who drives like a demon under the influence of not only alcohol, but pot too, and as a result, kills eight people, including herself. Really tragic, and begging for an explanation.Unfortunately, this documentary doesn't provide it, though it does give some good hints and clues. Watching this film confirmed what I have thought all along: the real criminal in this picture is not the female D. Schuler; rather, it's the male: Daniel. My theory prior to watching this was that Diane left the campground that morning angry. Was she consciously angry that Daniel got to drive off alone,(er,with the family dog) while she got to take the five kids for breakfast and then take the three girls home to her brother and sister-in-law's house? Maybe not, but then, as the documentary shines light on, Diane was bursting with a lot of unrealized and unexpressed anger, starting twenty seven years ago when, at the age of nine, her mother took off, leaving Diane (the only girl) in charge of her brothers and father.As Daniel's mother so aptly described, Diane had more of a third child in Daniel than a husband or partner. Perhaps Diane did what many of us unwittingly do so well: she chose a mate who helped to recreate her role in her original family. It's not wildly improbable to assume that beneath the facade of the happy, in-charge, in-control woman was someone who was seething with unexpressed frustration and anger, which in turn made her prone to psychosomatic problems, such as TMJ, which was alluded to (moving her jaw, pain near the ear) in the film, perhaps headaches, and/or other stress-related pains and bothersome conditions.One of these conditions likely caused her to stop and seek pain killers, and then, given their unavailability, had Diane turn to vodka and pot, to soothe both her physical and psychic pain. I highly doubt that Diane used these extensively on a regular basis, for, as her friends and relatives described, she functioned too well. She did, however, like to have them on hand, for emergencies such as how she felt that morning: incapacitated by both headache and rage.Another clue suggested by the film was when Jay Schuler casually mentions that Daniel never wanted kids. This is a big, red flag, suggesting to me that on all these happy, festive family events, not to mention in the family activities of their daily lives, Daniel was an unwilling participant. Yes, he was present and he did the perfunctory actions, but ultimately, in the end, he went off on his own (emotionally if not literally) leaving Diane with most of the work.The other enlightening thing that Jay Schuler said was when, about three quarters of the way through the film, she is seen throwing up her hands and talking about Daniel, saying, basically, what a pain-in-the-butt he could be, how he only went so far in a process and then essentially said he had had enough, and also, about his insensitivity toward both her and Bryan, his son. Out loud, I said, "Yeah, imagine how Diane must have felt." There are other psychological pieces which could be addressed but in another venue. As part of a film review, however, I think it's fair to say that the film contributed information which, for me, solidified the opinion I have had since that day two years ago: if there is a real villain in this story, it is Daniel. He is the passive aggressive, disturbed child-man who is not interested in the truth coming out about what happened because that would indict him. I think this is one of the reasons, at least, that the Hances declined participation in the film. Besides their own emotional reasons why they didn't want to appear in it, they may also not want to publicly state certain things, though given the legal actions that are currently taking place, I suspect the truth will soon be known.

Unfortunately this documentary hadn't yet been listed on IMDb when I caught it a couple months ago on HBO. I would have taken notes to bolster this review. Even without them, I am still left in awe of what was created here.The filmmakers start with an appalling news event and turn it into a work of art that is rich in both cinematic appeal and psychological interest.I am still haunted by the images, apparently taken by plane or glider, of the infamous short stretch of suburban highway on which a seriously impaired mother managed to drive the wrong way, killing herself and five of the six children in her car. These overhead shots create a sense of foreboding and dread over a tree-filled landscape that ordinarily would seem idyllically bucolic.The filmmakers do an excellent job trying to piece together what might have gone wrong, providing lots of background on the normally high-achieving woman behind the wheel, the husband she left behind who wants to remember well of her, and others such as an aunt who dotes on the one child who survived the crash with neurological and other injuries.The film includes some shocking footage of the death scene so be forewarned. In addition, the derivation of the title is never explained. Did one of the nieces in the backseat call for help from a cell phone? This is a superbly crafted real-life horror story.