(spoiler free)
It’s hard to watch Penny Lane’s Confessions of a Good Samaritan without being cynical. Making a film about the kidney you’re donating to a stranger feels about as narcissistic as you can get. Yet the documentarian acknowledges this, directly addressing this concern at the very beginning of her film. So if not a self-centred cinematic pat on the back, the film must just be a simple endorsement for organ donation then? Well, not quite. Less interested in persuading its audience, Lane’s film more specifically focuses on why (or why not) anyone would decide to donate their kidney to a stranger, delving into an exploration of altruism in the process.
And when this is the focus, Confessions of a Good Samaritan is at its most intriguing. Preluding this discussion, the film delivers a comprehensive and compelling history of organ transplantation and details the current and urgent need for more kidney donors. This is mostly contextual though, as despite suspicions this film is far more than just a public service announcement. While admittedly it may hold some influence and could certainly persuade viewers to investigate further, it’s more concerned with understanding just why anyone would actually consider this in the first place.
Once you get past the film’s gimmicky editing – which uses a computer desktop to transition between its various sources of research – the film’s subsequent investigation into altruism is fascinating. Attributing its prevalence in a person to the size of their amygdala, this scientific approach to the study seeks out expert opinion that’s grounded in fact, giving the documentary an especially informative edge.
However, this edge becomes considerably rougher when Lane transplants herself right into the centre of the film. She’s at least self-aware, knowing that she needs to refute claims that she’s only donating a kidney so that she can make a film about it. How convincingly she manages to do this will be the subject of highly contentious debate. However, regardless of whether or not viewers are satisfied with the director’s motives, documenting her experience does contribute a valuable insight about altruistic kidney donation to the film.
Of course this could also be obtained by using a donor other than herself as the subject. Proving herself mindful of this, Lane actually does seek the testimony of others, interviewing several other donors for the film too. Although their ultra-positive outlook on their experiences feels somewhat disingenuous, almost like they’re part of a donor recruitment campaign and can’t even entertain anything potentially negative about it. Whereas at least Lane gives a more all-encompassing view; portraying the less appealing aspects of the entire process, as well the more rewarding ones.
So while being the subject of her own film does undeniably enhance her investigation in a unique way, when that investigation happens to be about the selflessness of altruism, it enters into a constant struggle not to become self-contradictory. For those who can make peace with this central conflict, Confessions of a Good Samaritan offers an engaging open-ended discussion on organ donation, altruism and the intimate relationship between them. But ironically it’s a discussion that may leave you less likely to consider the potential of your own altruism, instead making you question the validity of others’.
Written by Hamish Calvert
★★★
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