November 13, 2023
FILM: PAY OR DIE
DIRECTED BY: RACHAEL DYER, SCOTT ALEXANDER RUDERMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
My family has been plagued with diabetes for decades. Both of my grandmothers had it, my mother had it, and now one of my brothers has it. It’s definitely in our genes and I fear at some point I may be diagnosed with it too. The new documentary Pay or Die sheds light on the high cost of insulin which is needed for many diabetics to survive. It’s a somber, if hopeful, journey featuring several individuals whose lives have been sadly touched by the disease thanks to those ridiculous drug costs.
Filmmakers Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman spend much of the film following Nicole and James Smith whose 26-year old diabetic son Alec died tragically in 2017 because he could not afford insulin. The couple tells the story in several emotional and tear-filled scenes. We see home videos of the young man who seemed to have had the world in front of him before his untimely death. After the tragedy, they begin their fight to help others in similar predicaments, eventually taking the issue to Minnesota senators and representatives. A bill is proposed, the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act, which would allow people in need of insulin to obtain the drug at pharmacies with costs submitted to one of its three major manufacturers. The film includes the struggle to get the bill past.
Also focused on here are Emma and Sandra, a poor mother and daughter who both have Type 1 diabetes. Unemployed and homeless, the film follows their journey to Canada where, similar to a LOT of other countries, insulin is extremely inexpensive compared to the U.S.
What the film calls to our attention is just how strong that cost disparity is and questions why as a country we seem to care more for the businesses that manufacture the drug than to the health needs of our fellow Americans. It’s a very disturbing problem. Too bad, though not unsurprisingly, representatives for the drug companies were not present to comment on the situation. Whether they were contacted for the film is not specified. Of course, their lack of presence suggests where their priorities lie: in saving their businesses.
The filmmakers are there for votes on the Emergency Insulin Act as well as a rally outside one manufacturer’s offices. These are effective and necessary scenes that involve a lot of concerned citizens. Some of the more personal moments come across as a bit stagey though. For instance, when Emma and Sandra travel to Canada cameras seem to be placed in strategic locations in their car and at the pharmacist’s counter where they inquire about obtaining the drug. The camera clearly moves around to capture different perspectives, including a strategic placement behind the pharmacist. This creates a slight air of falseness as if the scene and some of what these people say have been pre-determined and perhaps even rehearsed. It might just be the filmmaker/professor/critic in me that notices such details but I do feel the documentary process is manipulated a bit when I see such carefully designed scenes in a film that is supposed to represent cinema verite (truth.)
Still, there’s no question this is a necessary film that will hopefully get more people to take action regarding the health care needs in the U.S. It’s a shame so many people have to stockpile the leftover drugs that were unused by others who passed away. These are then given to people in need which is super great but shouldn’t we get more help from our government rather than having to take the cause into our own hands? Do we value health in the U.S? That’s what this film questions and asks us not to forget to fight for.
Pay or Die is currently playing in limited release. It will be available to stream beginning November 14th, World Diabetes Day, on Paramount+
FILM: PAY OR DIE
DIRECTED BY: RACHAEL DYER, SCOTT ALEXANDER RUDERMAN
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
My family has been plagued with diabetes for decades. Both of my grandmothers had it, my mother had it, and now one of my brothers has it. It’s definitely in our genes and I fear at some point I may be diagnosed with it too. The new documentary Pay or Die sheds light on the high cost of insulin which is needed for many diabetics to survive. It’s a somber, if hopeful, journey featuring several individuals whose lives have been sadly touched by the disease thanks to those ridiculous drug costs.
Filmmakers Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman spend much of the film following Nicole and James Smith whose 26-year old diabetic son Alec died tragically in 2017 because he could not afford insulin. The couple tells the story in several emotional and tear-filled scenes. We see home videos of the young man who seemed to have had the world in front of him before his untimely death. After the tragedy, they begin their fight to help others in similar predicaments, eventually taking the issue to Minnesota senators and representatives. A bill is proposed, the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act, which would allow people in need of insulin to obtain the drug at pharmacies with costs submitted to one of its three major manufacturers. The film includes the struggle to get the bill past.
Also focused on here are Emma and Sandra, a poor mother and daughter who both have Type 1 diabetes. Unemployed and homeless, the film follows their journey to Canada where, similar to a LOT of other countries, insulin is extremely inexpensive compared to the U.S.
What the film calls to our attention is just how strong that cost disparity is and questions why as a country we seem to care more for the businesses that manufacture the drug than to the health needs of our fellow Americans. It’s a very disturbing problem. Too bad, though not unsurprisingly, representatives for the drug companies were not present to comment on the situation. Whether they were contacted for the film is not specified. Of course, their lack of presence suggests where their priorities lie: in saving their businesses.
The filmmakers are there for votes on the Emergency Insulin Act as well as a rally outside one manufacturer’s offices. These are effective and necessary scenes that involve a lot of concerned citizens. Some of the more personal moments come across as a bit stagey though. For instance, when Emma and Sandra travel to Canada cameras seem to be placed in strategic locations in their car and at the pharmacist’s counter where they inquire about obtaining the drug. The camera clearly moves around to capture different perspectives, including a strategic placement behind the pharmacist. This creates a slight air of falseness as if the scene and some of what these people say have been pre-determined and perhaps even rehearsed. It might just be the filmmaker/professor/critic in me that notices such details but I do feel the documentary process is manipulated a bit when I see such carefully designed scenes in a film that is supposed to represent cinema verite (truth.)
Still, there’s no question this is a necessary film that will hopefully get more people to take action regarding the health care needs in the U.S. It’s a shame so many people have to stockpile the leftover drugs that were unused by others who passed away. These are then given to people in need which is super great but shouldn’t we get more help from our government rather than having to take the cause into our own hands? Do we value health in the U.S? That’s what this film questions and asks us not to forget to fight for.
Pay or Die is currently playing in limited release. It will be available to stream beginning November 14th, World Diabetes Day, on Paramount+