Reversal of Fortune

I'm fond of watching documentaries, so this triumph of a film has remarkably resonated with me in an extraordinary way. This is a segment of life all around us that is so very unknown (the homeless), laid bare before us as never before. Congratulations to Demaio for this ingenious accomplishment! The sad story takes us down a plot never witnessed in any Hollywood screenplay, yet grabs your soul till the very end. Man against himself - the ultimate test! What separates any of us from homelessness can be found in the lessons portrayed. Nature, nurture, good, bad, ugly,... its all there.

Without narrative, the unprodded course this man takes will answer a few more of life's biggest questions.

The movie ended too quickly. Even though Ted did not tell the producers how much money he had after 6 months, the producers could have found out and explained: whether he was homeless, still living in his apartment, or living with a relative; whether he had a job, or did he go back to collecting bottles and cans; whether he was still in Sacramento or back in L.A.; what happened to his 18-year-old friend; etc., etc., etc...

I've come in contact with a lot of homeless people in the past few years. Compared to the one's I talked to, Ted seems to be fairly intelligent. I think the producers picked the right person to give the money to. However, I'm not a movie-maker but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that homeless people generally are not motivated, have psychological issues, are drug addicts, or all of the above -- I could have predicted the outcome without going through with the experiment. The money did nothing for this man. It is the same reason why it is bad to blindly hand over money to struggling third-world nations with no guidance.

It is a little sad that the producers put Ted through this purely for our entertainment. I think Ted would have been better off if this movie was never made (he seemed to be happy in the beginning of the movie). If the producers really wanted to help change his life, they could have set up a trust account, where Ted could live off the interest income from the $100k. At 5% it would be about $5k a year for the rest of his life -- which is about the same amount of money he was making collecting cans all day.

I thought this film was fascinating, quite frankly. It took me through a whole range of emotions in barely over an hour. At first I felt very sympathetic for Ted, as he seems to be making the best out of a crummy situation (recycling, etc..). I then felt a nervous excitement for Ted when he finds the money. After he buys his friend a car, and explains to the hooker the importance of giving, I felt a genuine sense of respect for him. After this comes just complete, outright nervousness and concern. I find myself actually talking to him through the TV, trying to reason with him. Towards the end I actually hit a point where I was just plain angry with him and his rash decisions. Finally, I ended up completely bewildered by what I had just witnessed. Had this really happened? Had he really just cruised through $100K in 6 months, after living off of $25 a day for 20 years? In retrospect, the emotion I feel most for Ted is my original feeling - sympathy. Ted didn't stand a chance. He had no concept of the value of money, and nobody in his life he could trust to manage it. While many claim that the producers of the film should be ashamed of making this film, knowing he didn't have a chance to turn his life around, I would disagree. There was no telling what this man would do. As I can recall, this experiment has never been documented before. I truthfully was unsure how this money would affect Ted. Also, a viewer would be naive to translate the results to represent a broad view of how instant wealth would be handled by a homeless person. It is clear that this situation would differ from one person to the next. As for this situation with Ted...fascinating story and great theater.

Reversal of Fortune (2005)

**** (out of 4)

This here's a pretty amazing documentary that I'd probably put on my ten best of the decade so far. The film tells the story of a man named Ted who has been homeless for the past twenty-five years. His family pretty much wants nothing from him, his only friend is an 18-year-old who works at a recycling plant where Ted earns some small cash and he's got a bad drinking problem. The documentary then takes Ted's life into a new direction when the producer's give him $100,000 and then we see what the man decides to do with the money. The idea of giving a homeless man $100,000 is a great little gimmick and it leads to some truly beautiful, funny and heartbreaking scenes as we see Ted for the next six months of his life. I've always said the most beautiful scene in film history was the blind hermit/monster scene from The Bride of Frankenstein but there are a few moments in this film that really challenge that. The reaction of Ted when he learns about the money is priceless as is the scene where he helps out his only friend by buying him his first car. Of course, the story isn't all happy and hopefully we'll get a bigger follow up at some point.

I think this is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. You always see homeless people, and what an incredible "gift" to give someone - the chance to turn their life around. How many times does that happen? The film makers didn't have a hand in what Ted spent his money on, and they furnished him with people to "help" or "guide" him - which was Ted's choice not to participate in. You cannot give some one money, then "MAKE" them do what you think is best. These people have rights like any other human being, and free choice is one of them. It was interesting to me to see why Ted was homeless - you could tell that he did not WANT to change his situation. He could not live in a society that dictated what he do - so he did nothing.

I applaud the concept and the documentary - I have told many, many people to watch this.. including my son - who needs to see that one needs to think before spending - one needs to look ahead to get ahead.. Ted's problem is that he never wanted to grow up. He had a great opportunity - I would like a re-cap of where Ted is now, and if he would have done anything differently.