I just finally got to see this movie. Got to see it on YouTube. Did a search on DuckDuckGo, and all of the ones that came up had been removed, and the person who uploaded the movie had been terminated. I kept seeing more results and after perusing a bunch more search results, up came another YouTube link, I clicked it, and the movie was still up, even though I had done a search on YouTube itself and nothing came up.
Anyway, what a sad, sad movie. I admit I feel a little ambivalence about the movie. One of the things that bothers me is that throughout the movie, numerous ways of suicide are written into the story and presented to the viewers, no doubt some of which are impressionable teenagers. And the story itself is something that can hit home with teenagers. I honestly feel that, in this case, for some teens, who are already going through so much in their lives at that time in their lives, that these kinds of "ideas" aren't helpful, and can actually hurt, in some cases, as I said, the most impressionable teens going through the very real trails and tribulations of teenage life, and can implant these ideas in these kids. I remember what it was like as a teenager and all the crises seemed like the end of the world. There's just not enough maturity at that age to understand that the problems they are experiencing at this time in their lives are somewhat "small potatoes" that will blow over.
The movie makes Michelle out to be a villain. And I know everyone has their own opinion on this. Obviously, she is fighting her own demons. She feels slighted, to say the least, by Conrad's actions. She's a hurt, teenage girl. That's on top of everything else she is dealing with. Her mental issues are just as real as Conrad's. he had already tried, unsuccessfully, to kill himself, even before he met Michelle. And there were times where she actually did help him with his demons. She didn't start the generator. She didn't lock him in the truck. I think he would have done it regardless of how much coaxing anyone did or did not do. I know she was indicted and put on trial, and ultimately found guilty (although the movie ended without the final outcome coming to light because of an appeal). I'm just not sure when the laws changed making someone responsible for other's actions, especially in this case since she didn't purchase or provide the means for Conrad to kill himself, nor did she keep him from getting help if he so chose. What happened to self accountability? Honestly, I'm not sure she is guilty of anything, other than maybe being a lousy human being. Certainly, she had a litany of mitigating circumstances in her defense.
I don't know the lesson one should take out of this story. Maybe, the lesson, in it's most basic form, is that people with mental issues are the least equipped to be helping others with their own mental problems, even if their intentions are pure.