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On July 2nd 2003, Doug Bruce ceases to know who he was. Every memory of his previous 35 years is no longer accessible by him. Coming to on a subway in New York, Doug starts piecing back together his life with a telephone number found in his backpack. Over the next many months, he reacquaints himself with family and friends. For him though, this is the first time. Some relationships are regained; some relationships no longer have meaning.

This is the most fascinating aspect of the film. Because Doug no longer remembers who he was, he’s suddenly a very different person. Some people in Doug’s life find this new person easier to accept than others. Doug also finds some people in his former life that he would rather not have in his new one. Unlike his Hollywood counterparts, Doug doesn’t race to find the truth of his former existence. He lets it slowly come to him, though always viewing it as an outsider.

Sadly, I also felt like an outsider as I found it quite difficult to feel bad for Doug, despite his memory loss. Even Doug doesn’t seem especially bothered by it. He was a very successful stockbroker and had retired prior to his accident. He has no urgency to relearn an occupation, which would have made his side of the tale more compelling. With plenty of time on his hands, Doug can dine at fancy restaurants and fly across the globe at will to reacquaint himself with family and friends, finding a gorgeous Australian girlfriend along the way. These little details caused me to be somewhat wary about the authenticity of not only Doug’s story but the documentary, too.

Let’s get this straight: Unknown White Male can only be called a documentary in a very loose sense. Doug’s friend Rupert Murray serves as documentarian, using many of Doug’s home video’s to help guide the film and give it an intimate view of Doug’s life. This isn’t outright bogus, but what borders on fiction is the very stylized and atmosphere driven filming and editing that Murray uses. This aspect of the film seems just as important as telling Doug’s story and honestly destroys any sense of objectivity that someone telling the true story of a friend with amnesia could possibly have.

Murray, who also serves as narrator, poses this question at the beginning of the film: if a person’s memory was stripped from them, what would be left of that person? How much are personality and identity determined by memory and experience? Though it’s hinted at, the question is never fully explored, a sacrifice for style. What the film does show is the human side of memory loss, something many will find worth remembering.

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originally posted: 11/02/05 01:45:53
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