Not Alone, directed and produced by KiKi Goshay, follows the stories of multiple teens and their struggles with suicidal thoughts. Leading you to believe that you are “Not Alone” as the movie title pronounces. The movie follows a series of story’s as shown by interviews that are headed by a teen girl who’s best friend had committed suicide earlier that year. The movie starts out with a collage of videos showcasing how hard life was for the girl who’s best friend committed suicide, after the primary shock of the death. Using emotional music when the interviewer was crying and telling the story of her friends death, the movie has many ways of looping the viewer in and pulling your heartstrings.The videos and images portrayed in the earlier scenes of the movie are hard hitting and intense, leaving the viewer in tears within the first 10 minutes. While the interviewer starts to tear up talking about her late friend, the camera pans in close to her face to showcase the emotions she feels, in hopes of connecting the viewer and the movie right off the bat.

    The connections made early on in the movie, leave you hooked and with no moral choice but to hear the stories of the struggling teens. This trick is key to engagement when making a movie. Most movie watcher would agree that you can judge the course of a movie based off of the first 10 minutes, and decide if you would like to keep watching from there. I was captivated and in tears after the first 10 minutes of “Not Alone” and knew that this was the documentary me, and many other teens should watch. Not only is the movie empowering, and relatable, but the cinematic were incredible. Following the two-thirds rule while shooting the interview scenes, the movie was visually pleasing and intriguing.

    Many of the stories told in the movie were at times hard to listen to due to their heavy emotional nature. One of my classmates in my hometown of Birmingham, Detroit took his own life two years ago. So when I saw this documentary, I knew I would immediately be engaged. Not only was it emotional and raw, but it also gave options. At its core, along with being an outlet for teens to relate to others, It gave resources and paths for teens struggling with mental health and instability. A multifaceted movie, “Not Alone” is a great movie to watch, and too relate to. I would recommend this movie to all of my school and my friends to really see what it is like to not be okay. And, of course, to know that you are not alone. Another key aspect of this movie was to de-stigmatize mental health and to know that it is okay to talk about in a normal setting. A school nurse, or with your friends. Documentaries like this are important, not only to engage but to educate. Intriguing to watch and to listen to, “Not Alone” is the perfect movie to watch in your basement eating popcorn, or in a classroom seated at a desk.