Netflix Pick – Be Here Now
Let’s give this write up another shot. I keep trying but no matter how many times I try, no matter how eloquent I try to be words don’t do Be Here Now justice. This one is powerful. This one hits hard.
Be Here Now is titled after matching tattoos actor Andy Whitfield (Spartacus Blood and Sand) and his loving wife Vashti got when Andy got a brutal cancer diagnosis. The tattoo symbolizes the couple’s decision to live in the moment. To make the most out of the time they had together and with their young children. The motto follows the Whitfield’s through the whole journey and after. It’s something fans of the man, and people who have lived through similar experiences, have used as a rallying point.
There has been something special about TV stars since the invention of television. More so than singers, more so than movie actors. TV stars are let into your home. You tune in weekly to watch them. You sit on your couch for eight straight hours allowing Netflix to roll from episode to episode. You form something of a bond with the character, and by extension, the actors. No, you don’t know them personally, no you don’t know what they’re really like. But the impact on your life is real. Very real.
Spartacus was a show that had such an impact and Andy Whitfield brought the character to life. The show took on a classic film and did so in spectacular fashion. It’s an insane adrenaline fueled ride of sex and violence. It’s absolutely astounding.
Andy Whitfield’s big breakout role was when he got cast as the titular Spartacus. He went from a man juggling two careers, who was about to give up acting because his wife was pregnant with their first child, to the lead on what would become a massive hit on premium cable. He signed a six year contract. His family was financially set. He worked hard and the show hit. People loved Andy and his work on the show. He was on the top of the world.
Then the diagnosis came. The show itself (Spartacus) is not a major part of the documentary but it is the vehicle as to how we know the man. It was a young man sitting on the top of the world. A man who had everything and was humble and appreciative. How he got into the world of acting is a fun anecdote but when Andy talks to the camera about how much it hurt to have to lose all of that your heart will break for him.
When Andy was diagnosed the show runners on Spartacus opted to make a prequel season to give him time to go through chemo before filming season two. When Andy wasn’t getting better they waited to get the okay from him before recasting and moving on with the series. That part isn’t in the documentary, but a really awesome move that needs to be pointed out.
As the Whitfield’s battle cancer there is a small underlying sense of desperation. Andy wanted to try anything to get results. Many times he was faced with the question if to keep fighting or not. He always fought. Not for himself necessarily but for his wife and kids. Every decision on a different treatment was something of a gamble. Spending three weeks in a different country receiving a treatment may be the key to a lot more time with his family. In the immediacy he was staring down a deadly disease and had to accept the fact that was three weeks without his family.
The ups and downs of the documentary felt cruel as it went on. Be Here Now never tries to manipulate. It never plays anything up. The highs and lows weigh heavy on the audience who knows what’s coming. At times it feels awkward, looking in on a family at their most vulnerable holding onto a crucial piece of information they won’t have until it’s too late and if they did they couldn’t do anything with.
The vulnerability is a big part of the doc. Knowing Andy Whitfield as Spartacus is knowing a man in peak physical condition who has hours of footage of him just kicking ass and nothing can bring him down. There are, of course, many times when Andy is vulnerable but the one that really hit home is when he looks off in the distance and says ‘sometimes you just need your mom.’
Despite how aggressive the cancer was. Despite the dire outlook time and time again Andy’s attitude was exceptional. He was always able to look at the bright said. He never got frustrated swore, and punched a hole in the wall. One moment in particular, after the second round of chemo, Andy is celebrating the new year with his wife, kids, and parents. He is talking about despite how awful the cancer is the past year may have been the best of his life. He got to spend time away from work. He got to spend time with his wife and kids. He got to spend time with his parents. His parents got to see their grandchildren.
The documentary starts early in Andy’s diagnosis. A small camera crew follows the family and stays a silent observer. The crew not getting involved and not leading the Whitfield’s with questions adds a lot to the immersive element of the documentary. The camera confessionals and video self recorded by Andy and Vashti gives a further intimate look at the experience. I have never felt for what was happening on screen as much as with this documentary.
Mid way through the doc Andy and Vashti start talking about how they met. That conversation leads back, all the way back to Andy as a child. It was great. Then it goes into Vashti’s childhood. It seemed unnecessary for a fleeting second before it clicked. Be Here Now isn’t about Andy Whitfield’s battle with cancer. Be Here Now is the Whitfield family’s battle with cancer. Getting the complete story wasn’t unnecessary. It was absolutely necessary. It opens the Doc up on a whole new level.
There are a few moments where the scene breaks on an upward feeling. One such scene had Andy saying learning to live with lymphoma was something they’d have to do. It was upbeat, almost cheery in the grand scheme of things. The scene cuts to a sunset and I never hoped against hope in a movie as much as I did them. I wanted it to fade to black. I wanted to be able to check the internet and realize I was wrong for all these years.
After that moment I found myself holding my breath unintentionally. Every line could be the last, every cut could be the one. When it comes. It stings. There is an incredibly poetic story in the end told in a first hand account. For how devastating the ending inevitably is the way it all goes down couldn’t have been better. I could go on about it but I don’t want to take the experience away from your viewing. The poetic story also gets a really nice button at the very end of the doc.
Seriously. Watch Be Here Now. Even if you weren’t a fan of Spartacus. If you’ve made the mistake of not watching that show it’s also all streaming on Netflix, so get busy.
