Directed by Mikaela Shwer, despite decades of documented abuse and hundreds of deaths, thousands of teenagers across the United States are held in cultlike reform programs that generate multibillion-dollar profits with little to no government oversight. Told through the lens of three families’ journeys through what’s come to be known as the “troubled teen industry”, exploring their trauma, what it means to survive and asking if healing is possible in the absence of justice.
There’s a very traditional documentary style to The Kids Are Not Alright which was a really appropriate choice for the subject. Mikaela Shwer keeps things simple and lets these testimonies speak for themselves, and it was undoubtedly the right choice. There is a great tone and strong atmosphere right from the start that matches the melancholy, complex nature of the subject. It becomes quickly harrowing as soon as the details of these stories are unfolded, and there’s still much more to come so it only adds depth from there.
Shwer clearly wanted to instil a genuinely personal touch to The Kids Are Not Alright and she definitely achieved that. While there is a bigger political conversation to be had about the ‘troubled teen industry’ and it’s incredibly damaging, abusive methods, the documentary touches upon that but keeps the focus on the families. You get a good balance of the bigger picture, and what’s at stake, along with the intimate explorations of the trauma they suffered and are still suffering with.
The documentary also does a great job of portraying that conflict of: can they really move forward when the majority of those who were responsible for their abuse have never been brought to justice? When the industry itself has never been strictly regulated? They’re apt questions and you can see there is that lingering hole where they’ve been unable to find real closure. It’s sadly not entirely shocking but utterly disillusioning to see, for the most part, such lenient treatment of those who have caused so much harm to countless families.
The Kids Are Not Alright is moving and sensitive, Mikaela Shwer gives the survivors and families space to not just tell their stories but to provide a poignant reminder that more needs to be done to protect children. Despite that this is not a new topic, the abusive nature of these programs has been explored before, it doesn’t hit any less hard. Part of that is the personal style that Shwer employs and the rest is simply that it’s a truly harrowing topic. It’s a well-constructed film to explore their trauma, it’s intimate and affecting, and a necessary reminder of how unfortunately relevant the subject remains to be.
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