2nd Chance: Movie Review

Director: Ramin Bahrani 

Richard Davis is an intriguing subject for 2nd Chance, a documentary that's about altruism initially but soon devolves into something a little more objective as it examines its charge.

The first time we glimpse Davis is as he shoots himself in the chest while wearing a bulky shirt - it soon transpires this is a bullet-proof vest test and it's not the first time he's done it.

Initially there's a kind of ghostly fascination and perhaps hope that each test will fail, but Davis soon emerges as a somewhat divisive and dismissive character whose quest for self-aggrandisement comes more at the cost of those around him than himself.

99 Homes' director Bahrani makes a jocular approach to proceedings, splicing in archive footage both of Davis blasting himself but also footage of his own homemade movies that big up both his ego but also his ambition to save lives after he was involved in an alleyway robbery.

Mixing both shadiness from his past as well as pride over how his invention guaranteed so many a present, Davis is an interesting character no less - but Bahrani stops from fully diving in and questioning his subject when further truths come out.

An elongated section on the failure of the company's Zylon bulletproof vest feels like a wasted opportunity leading only to bankruptcy and a sense of "Oh well" from its founder, and this is perhaps Bahrani's weakest moments - allowing the subject to eclipse too much of his effect on others.

There's also the horror of one man benefiting from the war on terror, the impact of 9/11 and the gungho approach of criminals, but again Bahrani's less interested in his narcissistic impacts and more concerned with once over lightly when it counts.

Ultimately, 2nd Chance shines a light on someone who ordinarily wouldn't have got the spotlight - but whether they emerge victorious is too much on Bahrani's approach, and his desire to play his cards close to his vest prove to be a little too opaque for viewers.

2nd Chance is now streaming on DocPlay