Movie Review to Save a Life

To Save a Life is a story that I feel could transform lives if viewed by teens. Since I first watched this I have shown to my children and my youth group and can honestly say that it impacted at least two. The movie is about Jake Taylor, a senior at Pacific High School. Jake is the typical high school jock that has it all popular friends, a beautiful girlfriend and is planning on attending college on a basketball scholarship. He parties with the most popular and everyone looks up to him. He is at times even referred to as “everyone’s hero”.
However Jake was not ready for what was getting ready to happen in his life. He had been friends with a young man, Roger when they were kids but due to society and the expectations of the basketball star and how he was suppose to act and who he was suppose to hang with they had grown apart. Roger had saved Jake’s life when they were younger and was injured causing him to walk with a limp. He was not an athlete and just blended in with the rest of the school. While Jake seemed to have it all Roger had nothing, no friends and was always being made fun of and he felt that he had no hope.
In front of Jake, Roger comes to school one day and pulls a gun, Jake tries to stop Roger but it is no good he shoots himself in front of Jake. For weeks to follow Jake can not stop thinking about Roger and if there had been something that he could have done to stop him from killing himself. Jake begins to look for answers and finds them in a relationship with God.
Jakes entire life changes after this, he begins forming new relationships and ending ones that are not good for him. He stops partying and realizes how shallow his life really was. Jake realizes that the pain and emptiness that Roger had experienced and realized that it was also experienced by so many others at his school. Jake begins reaching out to the outcast, over looking some of the social barriers that he once would not cross. By doing this Jake saved at least one life but unfortunately this cost him the life that he was use to. This movie explores that journey that teens face with their choices. In the movie it addresses suicide, teen pregnancy, divorce, peer pressure and substance abuse as well as bullying. I really enjoy this movie because even though it has many problems that teens face on a daily basis that their only hope is found in a relationship with God, which is not always the most popular choice for a high school student and can cause problems also. However, in John 16:33 (NIV): we are reminded that “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
After reading the assigned reading this week I could see a lot of the theories in this movie. One example would be the sensation-seeking model and the problem behavior theory. Both of these attributes to adolescents taking risk that could be harmful to themselves such as Jake’s drinking, unprotected sex, and partying (Jaffe, 1998, pg. 139). Even thought Jake had began making changes in his life he still returned to one final party because as a basketball star and the boyfriend of a cheerleader that was what was expected of him. Only to realize that this was not the life he wanted to live. Adolescents feel that they are not going to be harmed by these behaviors and have the attitude “it is not going to happen to me”, however in To Save a Life it did happen to Jake his girlfriend ended up getting pregnant and his future he had all planned out changed.
In the movie Roger and Jake had been neighbors and best friends up until their freshman year. Jake matured early, was tall, handsome and athletic and was accepted by his peers at school where Roger appeared to be a late maturing boy who still looked young, still short, and stocky. The night that Jake chose not to go with Roger was one night after a basketball game and Roger had planned on going to his house with Jake and playing video games and eating pizza, but Jake was invited to go to a party with the “in” crowd. He first tried to include Roger but his friends told him he could not come. This was the beginning of the end of this friendship.
The movie showed Roger’s trials and his struggles in flashbacks and even showed him reaching out for help at the same Church that Jake eventually turned to. Roger felt that no one understood him that he had no other option but to kill himself that day. He felt that no one cared he even said when Jake pleaded with him not to do it “why do you care?”. This is an example of what David Elkin stated that “adolescents believe that their motives and life experience are unique or so unusual that no one could possibly understand or appreciate what they go through” (Jaffe, 1998, pg. 137). If Roger could have trusted someone or believed that someone could understand him then maybe he could have had another alternative than taking his own life. This is a problem with a lot of teens; they feel that no one knows what they are going through and that no one else has ever been through. It is so real to them and so big almost and impossible situation but what everyone need to remember is in Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Puberty had a big role in Jake and his girlfriend Amy relationship they were sexually active and did not always use protection which resulted in Amy getting pregnant. According to Jaffe, “parents and teachers should emphasize to adolescents their perceived costs of risk-taking behavior “(pg. 140). The decision making model looks at this through low risk adolescents as well as high risk adolescents. Unfortunately in this movie both sets of parents were dealing with their own personal problems to see the problems their children were facing. Jake had to grow up real fast and made some life changing decision about himself, Amy and the baby.
Once Jake got past worrying about what others thought of him and past egocentrism he was able to make good decisions and help others. He was able to look beyond what others would say or how was his actions was going to affect him. There is one time in the movie when he realized that his dad has been having an affair on his mother that he had a set back but with God’s guidance he was able to make good decision in his life, which resulted in him being able to save a life.
I would recommend this movie to anyone that has a teen or is involved in any work dealing with the youth. It deals with hard topics like suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, divorce, alcohol and drug abuse, peer pressure and how decisions you make can affect others lives. It is about bullying and how our words and actions can cause so much harm to others just for our benefit. This movie also shows how with God’s grace that we can change the way we live, they way that we view others as well as treat them.

References
Baugh, B. (Director) (2010). To save a life [DVD].
Jaffe, M. L. (1998). Adolescence. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

References: Baugh, B. (Director) (2010). To save a life [DVD]. Jaffe, M. L. (1998). Adolescence. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.