This was the hardest review I have written since I started posting my movie reviews. The reason being it was more personal for me. I knew viewing this film was going to be hard because I could easily relate to the topic. Back in school I was bullied. Besides being called a variety of names, I was stabbed with the sharp end of a compass, pushed down the stairs, punched and spat on. My family knew nothing about it for I instead found comfort in food. My ears could hear the tinkling of the ice cream truck chimes blocks away, where I always orderd a large soft serve chocoate ice cream cone. By the time I walked home there was no evidence of my snacking. Once home I would eat slices of bread, stuffing my feelings further; sometimes up to 1/2 a loaf or more. So sitting in the theater seeing what type of abuse these brave individuals were enduring was hard for me. The movie was layed out in a thoughtful and sensitive way; I was surprised the cameras had as much access as it appeared. What I found curious were the cities and towns that were chosen for this documentary. I believe the largest popuated place was Sioux City, Iowa. The other locations were small rural areas; where I felt one could possibly interpret bullying as being a small town problem. It certainly is not. I want to commend the families that lost a child to suicide, for agreeing to tell their heartbreaking stories. In my opinion I think this movie was a good start and hope people will take the opportunity to go see it. I only wish the filmmakers would have gone further with the topic. We saw individual stories; but I wanted to see more of the reasons behind these deplorable actions. More importantly, I wished they would have filmed more examples of what was being done to prevent them.

2 3/4 stars