DWF 2015: YOU SEE ME

A scene from You See Me.

Stroke of fate

By Miranda Inganni

Linda J. Brown wanted to learn more about her father, a man to whom she was very close, but who could fly into rage-filled outbursts at the drop of a hat. Then he had a stroke. Assisted by Super 8 films and VHS tapes her father had recorded, she tries to discover what caused him to lash out and what may have lead him to this point.

When Stanley Brown had a stroke at age 79, his family gathered around for the long recovery process. Linda, her sisters, Susan and Nancy, and their brother, Paul, pulled together to help their mom, Natalie, deal with the fallout. And there was plenty.

Linda had always been interested in what made her father tick (documenting part of their relationship in a much earlier film, Your Favorite) and while they did many things together, she felt like she never really knew her father. Linda, her siblings and her mom had lived their lives with a man who was physically abusive, but they never knew what the reasoning was behind his anger.

Over the course of the following 18 months or so, Linda documented Stan’s progress and his failures. Upon his initial return home, Stan breaks down in tears and tells his wife how much he loves her, something very uncharacteristic for him. Linda wonders if the stroke has somehow altered his brain chemistry, despite what the doctors have said. Sadly, his fits of rage return and he wreaks havoc on everyone’s emotions once again.

During this time, Linda discovers secrets of Stan’s upbringing that surely impacted him – a little boy yearning for his mother’s love and his father’s identity. (As a side note, this part of Stan’s story is fascinating and disturbing and could make an entirely separate movie.) Stan’s insecurities plague his relationship with his wife. Meanwhile, Natalie carries on like the dutiful partner. She only knows this life.

With a short running time of 70 minutes, You Tell Me is not only about her father's fate, but relates how a daughter came to know, love and forgive her father, while giving her mother a precious gift and learning to see her parents as people.