Sam Now: Review

7th June 2023

Reed Harkness grew up with his half-brother Sam and despite them having different mothers, they got along as close as any other brothers. Something that perhaps brought them closer together was when Sam’s mother disappeared.

Searches were made and a missing person’s report was filed, but eventually the family came to an answer that they weren’t expecting. Sam’s mother had simply gone away, wanting to have her own life where she could be more independent, leaving her son and her family behind to seek out the things that she wanted in life and it was left at that. A hard decision to make for any mother, but a decision that still affects Sam to this day.

Sam Now is a documentary from budding filmmaker Reed Harkness and it covers a situation very close to home. Showing how they both grew up, Reed films everything and the films that he made with Sam serve as a reflection of their close relationship.

However, now that they’re all grown up, Reed and Sam have a life to look back on and their journey together reveals more about Sam’s mother and how it affected everyone.

Using footage from those childhood movies, it shows how Reed Harkness is a very talented filmmaker. It also shows how close Sam and Reed were as children and how they could talk about anything. However, this doesn’t seem to be the same for the rest of their family as Sam’s mother is an unspoken subject, but this doesn’t stop Sam from wanting to find out more.

Following their lives from childhood to adulthood, Sam Now carefully goes through the discovery of what happened to Sam’s mother as well as telling both sides of their story with a remarkable objectiveness. Whereas at times it feels like Reed is forwarding the story for his own interest, he admits it himself, but still manages to show a balanced portrayal of all involved.

Everybody will have a strong opinion on what they feel about how Sam’s mother disappeared. Although, in the end Sam Now is a documentary that although filled with warmth and love, still feels distant enough to not guide its audience’s feelings.

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