The Big Picture

Great Photo, Lovely Life is a necessary correction to sensationalistic true crime documentaries as it confronts dark truths with care and asks essential questions. The documentary delves into the devastating effects of sexual abuse within one family, showing how it has been an open secret for years. The film offers a snapshot of the first steps in holding the abuser accountable and brings to light harder truths that other documentaries would not.

A great documentary can be many things. It can illuminate an aspect of a well-worn subject in a new way or pack an unexpected punch even within the confines of a familiar story. At the same time, many others can feel like an incomplete profile in how they attempt to capitalize on the infamy of a subject without adding much of anything new. Nowhere is this more present than in the seemingly never-ending amount of true crime documentaries that dive into all the devastating and sordid details of their subjects with an eye for sensationalism rather than tact. In the worst cases where the subject is put under an inadequate microscope, you end up feeling like you need to read about what was missing from the documentary that was supposedly made to shine a light on the darkness.

Great Photo, Lovely Life Photojournalist Amanda Mustard turns her investigative lens on the sexual abuse committed by her grandfather, unearthing a high-stakes personal journey in pursuit of the truth and reconciliation for Amanda’s family. Release Date December 5, 2023 Director Rachel Beth Anderson, Amanda Mustard Cast Amanda Mustard Rating TV-MA Runtime 112 minutes Main Genre Documentary Genres Documentary Writers Rachel Beth Anderson, Josef Beeby, Amanda Mustard

This makes the HBO documentary Great Photo, Lovely Life a necessary correction to these types of films as, while it doesn’t shy away from the darkness at its core, it is also aware of the agonies it is excavating. Told from the perspective of photojournalist Amanda Mustard, who co-directs the film with Rachel Beth Anderson, it takes us into her family and past that has been defined by a largely unspoken yet still crushing trauma inflicted by one of their own. To make such a deeply personal and often unflinching work about the abuse committed by a family member is no easy undertaking, though this devastating documentary does so with the necessary care for its subjects while still asking the essential questions.

What Is ‘Great Photo, Lovely Life’ About?

The documentary begins with handheld footage of Mustard and her mother, Debi, arriving to visit someone in his room at a senior living facility. The nervousness both feel is palpable as they hover outside the door before knocking. We soon discover the man is Bill and he is Mustard’s grandfather who is also a pedophile that has abused members of their family as well as others in his past. It is important to state this frankly and not talk around it as the documentary is itself about confronting this truth rather than attempting to push it under the rug. When asked about his actions, Bill is completely open and seemingly unrepentant about it. He makes horrific excuses for his abuse in a way that both lets him off the hook and casts blame on his victims. It is the type of moment that a lesser documentary would hold off as some sort of reveal, but this one is grounded in the fact that this has always been a present part of this family’s history even when no one would speak about it. When we then hear Mustard talking through the reasons her life has taken the path it has up until this point, which included moving outside of the United States and leaving behind her religion, it makes clear that this has been an open secret that almost everyone knew about in some way.

That she has returned to a home where the truth itself is not spoken of presents an opportunity to try to effectively use her background as a journalist to bring to light just how widespread her grandfather’s abuse was. It is the type of full accounting that consists of conversations with family members and patients of his when he was a chiropractor plus deep dives into records. Some of the discoveries are brought to life in projections on the walls of domestic spaces, capturing how even the good memories of the past are now haunting with the context of what happens surrounding them. It is both exhaustive and exhausting in a way that may make for a hard watch, especially for those with a history of abuse in their own families. To fellow members of this group, take care if you choose to watch.

However, this is precisely what makes the documentary resonate as it is this type of situation where the most understated yet unsettling truths that other superficial “true crime” films would gloss over rise to the surface. If there is an occasional bluntness to the approach here, it is because such a subject needs this to start to uncover the truth that has been buried under years of trauma that will likely take many more to fully work through. What Great Photo, Lovely Life offers is a snapshot of the first steps where a family speaks openly about Bill and he too is held to account for what he has done. The goal isn’t to get him sent to jail, though he still voices his fear of that at one point, but to hold him accountable to the people he has hurt.

‘Great Photo, Lovely Life’ Doesn’t Offer Easy Answers
Image via HBO

Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, and the answers that the documentary uncovers often lead to even more complicated revelations. One scene where they play recorded messages from the people he has hurt to him is meant to provide closure, but even that can’t undo all of the years of silence in one fell swoop. When it becomes less about Bill himself, who it can be noted does pass away, it then shifts to how the rest of the family can figure out their respective futures. More thorny questions arise about who knew what and when as well as whether not speaking up sooner about it led to more abuse of those who were truly unaware of what was happening. To her credit, Mustard doesn’t attempt to wrap things up neatly. She even waits a year to revisit a key idea of whether forgiveness should be considered that is tied up in a potentially misguided though all too familiar clinging to faith.

There could be a whole other documentary made about such questions as there is still much that goes unresolved here, but the dedicated manner in which Great Photo, Lovely Life goes about raising them is still worth praising. Much like the scene from which it gets its name, where a photo from an old album is flipped to reveal those four words, turning things over and holding them up to the light is the necessary starting point to finding the truth.

Rating: 8/10

Great Photo, Lovely Life will be available to stream on Max in the U.S. starting December 5.

WATCH ON MAX