Life After (2025)

-Written by Kyle Bain.

After he conducted research on the strange disappearance of Elizabeth Bouvia, disabled Director Reid Davenport created a documentary showcasing Bouvia’s unique story, the ongoing discussion of assisted suicide, and what that means for the future of those struggling with their disabilities. Life After looks to provide a thorough explanation of those aforementioned instances and ideas. 

The problem with Life After is the fact that it’s simply the same information being presented to viewers again and again. I’m not sure there was a point other than the initial bit of exposition and the film’s final reveal in which I found myself entertained, surprised, or anything in between. I hate to start a review like this, immediately condemning the filmmaker’s vision and execution, but the reality is that Life After is far too repetitive. 

It feels almost impossible to produce other talking points within my analysis of Life After. While the bulk of this documentary is sandwiched between two halves of a compelling narrative, there’s well over an hour in which Davenport fails to create something immersive or compelling. As we shift to various locales around the globe, the same arguments, incredibly similar court cases, and more are cycled through in a way that forces Life After to drone on and to become nearly unbearable at times. 

What Davenport does well is quickly introduce viewers to a compelling narrative that, while it lingers in the shadows of all of the aforementioned issues, remains nestled in the minds of viewers. It’s enough to keep viewers attentive as they wait for something to tie up the loose ends of Bouvia’s story. Life After starts off strong and ends effectively–but there’s far too much filler in between that hinders the documentary’s ability to be inspiring. 

I commend Davenport’s gusto–but Life After is framed in a way that doesn’t lend it to success. A far more succinct telling of these ongoing issues would have sufficed, and likely would have afforded Davenport’s sophomore feature more success. 

Directed by Reid Davenport. 

Starring Reid Davenport, Alex Thompson, Catherine Freeze, Ash Kelly, Julie Farrar, etc. 

4/10 = WORTH WATCHING, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED