Review of Jessie's Dad (2011) by Rob G — 13 Jan 2016

Boaz Dvir loves his superheroes. Not the kinds that fly around in capes or can run super fast, but the ordinary ones, the ones in real life, whom you might have had a drink with the other day, whose only prior goals included making a living and living under the radar.

These people weren't born superheroes; they were thrust into the role by the world around them. More recent films like "Discovering Gloria" and "A Wing and a Prayer" fit into this mold very well. Going further back into Dvir's filmography though, the passion for ordinary superheroes is just as strong.

Mark Lunsford is one of those people, a man who went from an every man with a 10th grade education to a driving force for social change. Several years prior to the film, he loses his daughter Jessie to a sex offender who lived right across the street from them. Justice was served, but Mark was far from satisfied. He is the focus of the documentary. He is Jessie's dad, who travels across the nation pushing for legislative reforms.

The film is uncompromising in its portrayal of a system Mark is looking to change, and the focus is very distinctly on these institutional shortcomings. It's hardly a comfortable viewing experience, but a necessary one about a topic that often gets swept under the rug after the verdict is in and the criminal faces sentence. It's a rickety road to change, and the film notes how the pain never goes away from what's happened. The toll is even shown in Mark himself, whose pain remains visible with every eye movement. Jessie only continues to remain a part of him, both figuratively and literally; he has a tattoo of her below the ribs.

Also unlike conventional superheroes, Mark hardly saves the planet by the end of the film. Many questions linger on about the situation, and much gray area remains throughout the compromises. The loose ends are still prevalent, and Dvir is apt in observing them. Like any great documentary, the bottom line is generating conversation. The ending is an ellipses, not a period. While the film was released in 2011, the conversation can only continue, and "Jessie's Dad" can only do good in continuing it.