Movie Review: Coming To My Senses - Inspirational But Flawed

Genre: Documentary

Director: Dominic Gill

Studio: The Orchard

Runtime: 81 minutes.

Release Date: Available on VOD Tuesday May 15, 2018.

Rated: Not rated

Rating ★★★★★

I have always found documentaries to be the hardest type of film to do right by. If executed properly, documentaries can be powerful as well as informative; but if done poorly, they can be very boring. In addition, many documentaries start off strong then fizzle out, becoming less engaging as they go along despite how interesting the subject matter is. So, going into Coming to My Senses, I approached with trepidation.

Directed by Dominic Gill, the film follows former motocross biker Aaron Baker. In 1999, Baker suffered a spinal injury while motocrossing that left him completely paralyzed from the neck down. The film takes us on Baker’s journey beginning with his road to recovery, all the way to his biggest challenge yet: walking 20 miles across Death Valley.

Movie Review: <em>Coming To My Senses</em> - Inspirational But Flawed 2

Aaron Baker in the desert.

There are powerful and inspiring moments sprinkled throughout Coming to My Senses, and Baker himself is intriguing to watch and listen to. Plus, Gill’s passion for Baker’s story shines through. However, the film is held back from greatness by direction that feels too timid to get gritty; as a result, the final product feels overly sanitized to leave a lasting impact.

This issue is most evident when addressing some of the more uncomfortable topics. Gill decides to gloss over a few of the important details; the cause and severity of the injury, subsequent financial hardship, and the amount of time Baker struggles to find resources to help him in his recovery. These points are brought up yet are only addressed briefly before rushing on to something happier, usually with a quick montage of Baker riding or doing physical therapy set to upbeat music. It makes the movie feel shallow resulting in the documentary losing steam quickly.

Movie Review: <em>Coming To My Senses</em> - Inspirational But Flawed 3

Baker taking a break.

That’s not to say Coming to My Senses lacks sincerity. The most powerful moments happen when Gill becomes a fly on the wall, simply observing Baker and his family discussing his injury, the emotional strain it puts on them, and their uncertainty of the future. It is in these quiet moments when Coming to My Senses becomes profound. You begin to truly get a sense of the hardship families like them go through. In one uncomplicated scene that shows Baker falling and struggling to get up in the desert conveys so much about his experiences.

Probably the most eye-opening scene, both for Baker and the audience, is a moment where he visits a fellow motocross athlete who also suffered an injury similar to his. Only unlike Baker, this biker is unable to recover due to both the severity of his injury and not having access to the resources needed to undergo physical therapy. While it’s hard to watch, it showcases the importance of caring for victims like these two athletes.

Interestingly, Gill’s direction does work in subtle ways. Some of the film’s deeply emotional scenes come from how he frames the interviews. Gill gets extremely close so the subject’s face takes up the entire screen, letting the viewer see every emotion flowing through them. And sometimes, he lets their silence play out for long stretches, deepening the impact of these moments.

Movie Review: <em>Coming To My Senses</em> - Inspirational But Flawed 4

Aaron Baker

One problematic area that arises is how Gill tackles this subject matter. He focuses on the ‘what’ but not so much on the ‘who.’ After watching Coming to My Senses, I know a lot of the things Baker has done but not so much about who Baker is as a person. Gill focuses so much on aspects like Baker’s cross country bike trips to raise awareness for spinal injuries, montages of Baker doing physical therapy, and of Baker walking across the desert, but rarely are we given glimpses of who Aaron Baker is as a man, a son, a human being in between those scenes. The best way to describe this is there’s tremendous focus on “Superman” but not enough on Clark Kent. While it can be motivational to see Baker do the impossible, it’s would have been more relatable to see the human side of Baker, his successes, and failures.

Overall, Coming to My Senses is a good film which has the potential to be something greater. While it does have flaws, it’s sincere and treats its subject tastefully. If you’re in the mood to watch something inspirational, or if you like sports documentaries, check out Coming to My Senses.

For more information on the film, visit http://www.tomysenses.com/.

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Dustin Kogler

Professional amateur movie watcher. Dustin is a laid-back nerd who loves discussing pop culture. He loves listening to 80s music, playing video games and watching netflix all day. He's pretty sarcastic and if you tell him your favorite movie he can tell you why you're wrong.