 Born Rich (2003) After a few meetings that I found totally useless, I proposed as the central topic of a meeting that we disband the long-standing group entirely. It was in many respects biting the hand that feeds, I suppose, but for me, it was more about calling a spade a spade, acknowledging the unacknowledgeable. It's with that mindset that I say I admire Jamie Johnson (a Johnson & Johnson heir) for making a film about that which you just don't talk about in his world: money, and specifically, being young and having all the money you could ever want or need. Born Rich finds Johnson interviewing ten or so peers, all very young and born into ungodly amounts of money. He asks some tough questions in an attempt to arrive at some kind of truth about what it means to not have to work to make one's way in the world. Though on the face of it, you'd think that this would be a bunch of rich kids whining about how hard it is to be rich, but after listening for awhile, you really get the sense that money is just another thing one might have to deal with, and that pain is, at bottom, pain. Sure, I'd love to be free from my day job, but that's because as a non-rich person, I know exactly who it is I am, and who I want to be. I've had to work at that, and work hard to support my many dreams. Identity doesn't come so easy growing up in the shadow of inordinate wealth. Most of these kids confess to not knowing a damn thing about themselves, that is, who they are apart from being of money, until some hard-learned lessons helped shed some light on it. This brings up a core issue of human freedom as it relates to happiness—I mean, I have my day job to react to; in so many ways it specifically does not define me, it is merely how I fund my passions. What would it be like to start out with no sense of the value of time and freedom? To not be able to identify even one passion, because all of them would be equally available to you? Not easy, apparently. I didn't exactly come away feeling sorry for these kids, I mean, they still have shitloads of money, but I wouldn't trade lives with them for that. The interviewees offer plenty of insight, but often with an edge of bitterness that illustrates how hard it's been for them to just come to terms with being who they are. Johnson in particular comes off as a pretty together guy, speaking from a position of healing – some of the best scenes feature him talking emotionally with his unemotional and guarded father, who tries to be a good sport, but just looks trapped. One thing money doesn't buy is a real sense of self. Fascinating stuff, and a pretty solid first film. I was a little put off by the rather overly Michael Moore-esuq tone to the whole thing … Johnson would do well to ditch that droney, self-pitying approach and stay in his heart, because that is what gives Born Rich its power.
Review by Demarcus Durnford |