Hope is a hammer, Ady Barkan attempts to say. His tongue, lungs, and the rest of his body devastated by ALS (an incurable degenerative disease that paralyzes and eventually kills its victims), Ady tries again and again but just can’t get the words out to the audience of thousands gathered to hear the American healthcare activist speak. This moment, one of many heartbreaking scenes in Nicholas Bruckman’s not-so-quietly devastating documentary Not Going Quietly, perhaps best encapsulates the ironic paradox of Ady’s emergent and often viral voice: the more his body fails him, the less he is physically able to move and speak, the more he has to say and the more people gather to listen to him.
Directed with great empathy and human understanding by Bruckman, the Amanda Roddy and Duplass brothers produced Not Going Quietly, much like its tough-as-nails protagonist Ady Barkan, is not out for sympathy. Though we see Ady’s gradual deterioration as ALS robs him of more and more of his physical capabilities, the powerful documentary rebukes viewer’s pity and instead aspires to inspire. 
Tracking Ady’s political awakening and his ascension as a revered and even feared activist with a voice that’s willing to challenge some of the most powerful politicians in the country, Not Going Quietly demonstrates Ady’s ferocity of spirit and his tongue-in-cheek ‘f*ck-em’ approach to obstinate American politicians. But this isn’t just the tale of diseases and politics, the film doing a lovely job of highlighting Ady’s wry humor, be he joking about sorority sisters ravaging his paralyzed body or paling around with his young son Carl.
Like any great drama, Not Going Quietly complicates the new relationships Ady builds as he becomes increasingly involved in activism against the need of his family – his supportive wife Rachael and quickly-growing son Carl – who conceivably only have so much time left with him where he can speak, interact, and just generally function on his own before the disease advances and takes even more of him with it. One feels tugged in many ways, questioning the act of selflessness itself as Ady travels the country on his viral #BeAHero tour.
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Going from state to state to address growing concerns about Trump-led Republicans repealing Obamacare without any kind replacement, Ady puts a human face on the countless many who’ve been denied coverage due to “pre-existing conditions”. In encounter after encounter, he proves himself a fearless scarecrow, ready to throw the reality of those afflicted in the face of politicians like Arizona senator Jeff Flake, who would rather look the other way and dodge meaningful dialogue on the topic than actually confront his constituents, hear their woeful stories, and address change. It’s a towering takedown of our country’s broken healthcare system as well as its tribal, opaque governance and Bruckman weaves it all together masterfully.
I knew going into Not Going Quietly that this was likely a movie that would bring me to tears and on that front, I was not disappointed. In all honesty, I can’t remember a movie that’s made me quite this emotional in some time so be prepared with an entire CostCo-sized pallet of Kleenex. But that’s not to say that Not Going Quietly is a cheap tearjerker, nor is the intention to upset audiences. Rather, Ady’s story exists to inspire, to call to arms, to get people to care. Hope is a hammer. And so too is Not Going Quietly.
CONCLUSION: A masterful character study and politically activated documentary about ALS-stricken activist Ady Barkan, ‘Not Going Quietly’ is a powerful and overwhelmingly emotional story of a heroic man honing the power of his voice just as he begins to lose it – and the rest of his physical abilities – to an absolutely debilitating disease.
A
For all our coverage of SXSW 2021, click here.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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