Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Silver Damsen I saw this film when I was still active in AA. Because of the harm that AA did to me and the harm I saw it do to others, I have since become a member of the Anti-AA community. I respect the film's slickness, but I also fear it.Most striking about the film is how it takes several of Bill Wilson's most notorious true behaviors, such as his rampant cheating on his wife; his asking for alcohol on his death bed; the general rumor that he was manipulate and unhappy; and used LSD, and somehow reinvents them so that the viewer leaves the film feeling that all of this just proves even more that Bill W. was a truly "spiritual" and blessed individual.It is an interesting film because I think it helps to understand how and why AA considers itself "spiritual" when it more accurately is one of the more dangerous of the active and semi-accepted cults in the US today, such as the KKK and Scientology. AA is more dangerous than its less respected cousins because everything that indicates that there is something seriously wrong with the culture of AA, is somehow turned so that the viewer concludes at the end that "Of course, cheating on your wife is just fine for a spiritual leader, such as Bill W" even if the same people would make the opposite conclusion if a political leader did the same.Thus, the film is most useful in demonstrating how the superior marketing of AA has made it a "spiritual" institution, despite its corrupt standards of ethics and morals. However, this knowledge comes at the risk of being brainwashed by the film itself and actually believing its definition of "spirituality."

Todd347 The film is well done. It was well researched and organized. It is as good a documentary as "The Thin Blue Line," "The Fog of War" or "American Movie." It is one of my top 10 favorite movies. I am an active AA member and a fan of documentaries. I first this film at Chicago's Century Centre Cinema and then at a community college screening with the director present for Q&A. Then, I bought the DVD. There is a big backstory and lore to the AA movement that many of us in AA were not even aware of. For example, Kevin Hanlon interviewed Ernest Kurtz, author of Not-God, a doctoral dissertation and a definitive work on AA history. Few people in AA get beyond AA's basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous. The film can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in documentaries, but it will have special significance for AA members. And, it had to be made by an outsider. AA itself could never have internally agreed to make this film. It is great to have this bit of history pulled together in a balanced manner.

Lark W Yes ~ I can't say enough Good. As one other reviewer mentioned, I experience the same ~ impossible not to be a bit biased since I am passionate about the material ... and the man. The film needs to be around More, in the theatres. I'd see it again ... and bring a bandwagon. The acting was great and I liked the way the Facts were conveyed. William Griffith Wilson was not a saint, in the sense that he was not perfect ... like each of us are not ~ but I put him in the same category as Martin Luther King, Buddha, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Echart Tolle, Earnest Holmes, Joseph Campbell, Jesus Christ, et. al.The man was brilliant, and he accomplished the impossible: creating the Way of the 12 steps after being sober only a short few years ... and include meditation (!) and making the whole deal such a simple process ~ that works for anyone, I think, willing to do it. I felt such sadness for him, that he was not able to truly benefit from what was created, like any 'regular member'.

j7153 I love this film, but my view is skewed. The emotional link for those of us in recovery is deep, and the effect of watching it reminded me of visiting Akron for AA "Founder's Day"; not unlike a pilgrimage. The footage and photos I've never seen before of these historical figures were riveting. The music, stunning. The whole thing was well thought out, sequenced, and presented, and gave me a few surprises. The dramatized segments were effective, with excellently done costumes, hair, sets, and lighting. I am, however, a stickler for continuity and was disappointed (like nails on a chalkboard disappointed) in the wrong decade chairs used for the banquet meetings, not to mention the plastic name tag holders that weren't in common usage back then. That's my only beef with this otherwise well presented piece. I laughed and I cried. Thanks so much for this important work.