A Review: Jeremy’s Sin

Bullying. It’s a hard topic to show in video format. It seems like the only times we have seen videos about bullying have been that time in high school when the administration gathers the students in the auditorium. Students then have to sit through a series of short videos: usually one of a sad girl with a perm in 80’s clothes being heckled by the 90’s equivalent to the Plastics; another of a freshman in thick glasses being thrown into an oversized trash can; and one of a scrawny boy in knee-high tube socks being pushed against a locker by a football player that looks way too old to still be in high school. That is, only after the janitor figures out how to connect the VHS player to the projector. That was my experience, at least.

It’s so hard to relate to videos like that. As a student, you end up making fun of the terrible outfits and hair more than paying attention to the lesson being stressed: don’t push kids into lockers.

Here’s the problem: that’s not what bullying looks like. More often than not, it’s much more discrete. That’s the bullying writer and director Ryan J. Cudahy is trying to shed light on–and the long term effects it can have.

Jeremy’s Sin does this by following the story of a kid named David who is bullied throughout his years in school. We watch his pain as he consistently becomes the butt of his classmates jokes and is teased relentlessly for any and every mistake. We start to see that bullying isn’t always as physical or obvious as we may have guessed. I think anyone who has ever experienced bullying will identify with some part of this film, whether it’s watching classmates make jokes about him online, or asking if he’s finally come out of the closet. The film also shows the toll it can take on the friends and families of someone who is bullied. Jeremy’s Sin shows an all-too-common scene of David’s parents pleading in vain for help from the school’s administration. David’s pain only increases and even leads him to lash out at his college girlfriend. Honestly, the a lot of the film is dark and it’s hard to see anything good that will come out of it. But I think that’s poetic. I mean, isn’t that what being bullied feels like? Isn’t that why so many kids require years of therapy? But Jeremy’s Sin doesn’t end in the dark. Instead, it ends with a little nugget of light. A bit of hope that can be freeing so someone still haunted by the pain of those school days. Bullying can be complicated and complex. And Jeremy’s Sin does a great job covering as much of it as possible.

Sadly, some of the story is shadowed by some technical problems. The shakiness and never-settling focus of the camera can be distracting to the point where it cheapens what should be impactful scenes. The timeline was also confusing to me. There were some time labels in the beginning but don’t return. I’m still not sure if the film is supposed to follow David as he gets older with some flashbacks here and there, or if it’s focusing on David as a college student who has flashbacks with flashbacks in them. Either way, it was hard to follow. I wish the dialogue flowed better as well. There are some lines that seem like they were included to make the conversation feel natural. I also noticed that some of the acting seemed stiff. Some of the body language comes off as forced and occur a second after it probably should have. To be fair, I watched a pre-release version of the film with some technical problems that should be fixed in post-production.

Although Jeremy’s Sin is definitely a step in the right direction, I don’t think it’s the culture-changing film that it was intended to be. I wish the technical problems didn’t distract so much from the story, and I hope that a few more edits will fix that. However, when you do get to tap in into the film’s heart and walk with David as he experiences the weight of pain and the freedom in forgiveness, you’ll find your time has been well spent.

You can watch the finished film here after its official release on Monday, Nov. 16.