Not many people watched the teen-suicide TV-movie "Surviving" in 1985, simply because they had already seen this one and felt the subject had been done appropriate justice (in fact, both films are excellent). This tentative effort is cautious but very sincere. It features down-to-earth suburban parents shocked over their son's self-inflicted death, hurt and confused in the aftermath while trying to deal with their mercurial daughter and the boy's troubled best friend (Charlie Sheen, doing solid work). It's heartfelt and well-acted, especially by Mariette Hartley as the mom (she's a crumbling tower of strength, and gives her lines such a realistic spin you may hear your own mother talking). Worth seeking out.
Add a Review
-
paulrc38 May 2022Well i was searching on Ebay for 80s movies on VHS that might have slipped under my radar, and recently on a Charlie Sheen tangent I decided to try this film. Was not anything like I thought it was going to be. Very depressing subject matter but I couldn't turn away. Gut wrenching, and raw emotions. This should be a must watch for young high school kids to help with their inner emotions and help see potential warning signs of friends on the edge. I was enamored with the film as it really fit the same style (Sheen as a co-lead) of the great 80s movie The Boys Next Door. As a matter of fact one of the heartthrob girls plays a similar role! And I even saw an actress from Just One Of the Guys in there too. Bit the best hidden gem for me was the inclusion of two audio tracks by the epic 80s band Was Not Was!! I've been a huge fan of their album Born To Laugh At Tornadoes and to hear two tracks from the album in the film really was heartwarming. And I was shocked their was no mention of any songs in the end credits!! Made For TV films weren't required to give copyright credits!?! Solid film 7/10.
-
I found this film good in parts. If we skip to the part where Skip has already committed suicide, his parents' reactions, from denial to realisation and acceptance, are believable. Dana Hill plays a compelling grief-stricken sister, letting loose on his room in her anguish, and tackling his classmates on the matter. My problem? - Skip's demeanour in advance of his suicide just doesn't convey suicidal anguish. At best he comes across as glumly resigned and a bit anxious. He's unhappy about poor school marks.. but his parents seem perfectly nice reasonable people, not demons who will beat him and berate him over this. The girl he has a crush on turns him down - perfectly nicely, as it happens - and what teenager hasn't been infatuated in vain and repelled much less kindly? We see no tears, no hair-tearing, nothing to stir the emotions and convince us he is more than a little downhearted. And at a pool party - the VERY NIGHT of his suicide - he performs a comic strip-tease for his friends. It really just doesn't ring true. Neither does his friend Ken's assertion that "he told me he was going to kill himself". Or only if you read into this teenager much more sensitivity and intuition than is portrayed in the film. And neither does his sister's later assertion that Ken is acting really odd and said nasty things to her (he didn't). On the basis of Skip's only mildly depressed-seeming behaviour, his sister's speech claiming that "we all let (his suicide) happen", though heartfelt, left me wondering exactly what signs all these relative strangers were meant to have noticed and acted upon, when we, the audience with a window directly into Skip's emotions saw nothing terribly concerning.
-
MarieGabrielle4 September 2006Why do people only give flowers and sentiment at funerals, and not to the living? This is a fact that many movies which address the subject of suicide fail to ask.
People do not think, until it is too late. Anyone who has lost someone, whether accidentally or by suicide, will empathize and be affected by this film. Mariette Hartley is excellent as Skip's mother, in denial about the "accident".
Howard Hesseman is also very good, working on his projects, avoiding reality, feeling he failed his son in some way, but not knowing what to do about it.
There is also a small part with Charlie Sheen, and his insensitive mother, who acts as if no one in her family could ever resort to such a thing. Sheen comments that she has no idea what goes on in the mind of a teenager. Chad Lowe, as Skip, portrays the disconsolate adolescent who is upset about his SAT scores, and decides he must escape from his life.
The character Penny, portrayed by Elizabeth Berridge, is very sensitive and real. She is angry at everyone, because she understood Skip and his suicide more than anyone else.
This is a film which should be shown in all high schools; suicide is a permanent and tragic choice for the temporarily depressed; unfortunately most parents are still too afraid to even acknowledge it, let alone try and discuss it with their kids. Hopefully future generations will be better at discussion, rather than sweeping emotional problems under the rug. -
That great quote above is a question that was asked by Cindy Lewis, the daughter of Barbara and Carl Lewis.
Skip Lewis had been having a hard time in school. His grades are slipping and he did below par on his SAT. The most beautiful, popular girl in school just turned him down for a date, and it seems like nothing in his life is going good for him. So he decides that the only way that he can stop his pain is to commit suicide. So Skip gets his car, goes to a large hill just above the ocean, and drives full speed off of the hill without looking back.
His parents are in denial. They all think that it was an accident, and that Skip was a perfectly happy kid. But his friend Ken, and his sister Cindy know that it wasn't an accident. They saw the signs. Skip asking Ken if he were going to kill himself would he tell anyone. Skip giving Cindy his record collection. All things that they just brushed off without thinking.
This was a very good movie. I viewed it in Life Management class when we were studying suicide. The acting was very good, especially from Dana Hill. Her essay at the end of the movie titled `Silence of the Heart'. This was a time when everyone looked at suicide being done by a crazy person, which is not true. Cindy and her family had to go through people talking behind their backs, even at Skip's funeral. It shows you the warning signs of suicide, why it happens, and what we can do to prevent it. I would definitely recommend this movie. It's a TV movie true but it still has a good message that everyone should see. -
Troubled teen Skip Lewis (a strong and moving performance by Chad Lowe), depressed about getting bad grades on his SATs and being rejected by a hot girl (the gorgeous Alexandra Powers) he's got a crush on, commits suicide by driving his car off a cliff. His confused parents and friends try to figure out why he killed himself and attempt to come to terms with the sudden severe loss they feel they could have possibly prevented. This gripping and touching film tackles the explosive and pertinent subject of teenage suicide in an admirably tasteful and restrained manner; it's this subtle presentation of a delicate subject and the thankful complete lack of sappy melodrama which in turn makes this picture so strikingly effective and heart-wrenching. Ably directed with laudable tact and sensitivity by Richard Michaels, with a thoughtful and insightful script by Phil Penningworth, sharp, polished cinematography by Isidore Mankofsky, a moody, melancholy by Georges Delerue, and exceptionally affecting acting by a first-rate cast which includes Mariette Hartley as Skip's loving, exuberant mother Barbara, Dana Hill as Skip's compassionate sister Cindy, Howard Hesseman as Skip's sturdy denialist workaholic dad Carl, Charlie Sheen as Skip's loyal best friend Ken, and Elizabeth Berridge as Skip's sweet gal pal Penny, this remarkably poignant and powerful made-for-TV knockout is well worth watching.
-
cooper-2923 December 1999then check it out. I remember seeing this in my early 20s and really being moved by it.Its about the expectations we set for ourselves and when we cant meet them how helpless we feel.Chad Lowe does a great job as a teen who feels hes failing everyone when his grades arent great.He commits suicide and the rest of the story is about the aftermath and how his death effects everyone. Wonderful Movie.If you can find it on VHS or DVD check it out
-
It's very rare I give a film a 10, but this was amazing. I saw it about a year ago and still remember how deep it felt. Skip is feeling depressed, so when he doesn't pass a test at school and the girl he likes turns him down, he forgets all the good things in his life, like his best friend who's a girl, his guy friends at school and his family. So he drives off a cliff. His friend, Ken, who's equally depressed takes his mind of his misery by volunteering at a children's hospital. Then one day a kid he was close to at the hospital dies. This is all too much for him that he was almost heading for the same fate as skip, until skips mom talks him down, and finally accepts her sons death was a suicide (having first been in utter denial).
-
tbob0215 December 2003If you have never seen Silence of the Heart or if you haven't seen it in a long time, do yourself a favor and rent it. The performances are as moving now as they were almost twenty years ago. This movie is well worth your time.