Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: DEAR MR. BRODY [SxSW Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The aspect of perception and hope can take on different forms both inside and outside. The story of Michael Brody Jr. explored in "Dear Mr. Brody" [Festival Favorites/Texas Premiere) seen within the online portion of SxSW Film 2021 is an interesting ode on fame and money in a time where cancel culture and social media had no place. It was a story that took place before this reviewer was born (1970). But in the throws of civil unrest, the Vietnam War and the impending Cold War, this man, Michael Brody Jr., who was a supposed inheritee to a margarine fortune (?) came out of the woodwork with a new bride (who is a cornerstone interview in this doc) and professed to want to give his money away to bring peace and love. But different elements intersected his psyche. Without giving too much away, the path he took (especially in the first 10 days) was sensational but utterly ill-advised once the cracks started to show. Perhaps it was a social experiment but it is one that spread across the world. Everyone needs help but it depends on what level. The basis of the film is based in letters that were written to Brody...a bulk of which remained unanswered. The filmmakers in Keith Maitland (the director) and Melissa Robyn Glassman (who is on camera but also a producer) give some eye through which to see some of these letters. The initial spark came from producer Edward Pressman who had originally started developing a film on Brody in the 70s. Pressman went on to produce many films like "The Crow" and "Wall Street" but kept the letters that created the background of this film in his storage unit it seems in NY. Now while producer Glassman's presence isn't overtly overwhelming, it gives a path onscreen through which to see some of these people who reached out. They pick a few and reach out from a lady with a deaf brother who forgot initially writing the letter to a hairdresser turned pastor in South Carolina to a mom in Cleveland who returned home to the reservation to a family on the edge of civilization living in a cabin without electricity and a father who couldn't read or write. More than anything "Dear Mr. Brody" looks into what humanity looked like in 1970 and how alot of it hasn't changed. While we do get to see the path that Brody took (which is tragic of course) and not without its missteps, the emotion and honesty it brought forth in some of the letters is redemptive if not eye opening to the empathetic and psychological beauty of humanity. B

By Tim Wassberg