Review of PBS Documentary

I've been watching this PBS documentary, a Frontline special called Country Boys (2005, David Sutherland Productions, Inc. and WGBH Educational Foundation). In this three-part series, filmmaker David Sutherland follows two boys from rural, impoverished Eastern Kentucky and chronicles their daily struggles and triumphs. Cody and Chris are both students at the David School, an alternative, Christian-based learning facility for academically challenged youths. The two young men occasionally cross paths but are on two very different roads.
Cody lives in a rather nice home with his step-grandmother, Liz. (Cody was orphaned when his father murdered his step-mother (Liz's daughter), a stripper, while she was working and then shot himself to death. Cody's biological mother also committed suicide) Cody's primary forms of solace are his Christian heavy metal band and his girlfirend, Jessica. Somehow, Cody manages to transcend his situation and even becomes the David School's valedictorian and considers going into the ministry.
Chris, on the other hand, faces a much bleaker future. Living in a dilapidated trailer with his enabling, high-school-drop-out mother, alcoholic father, and his siblings, Chris often becomes angry and frustrated and frequently misses school. Sadly, Chris is also very intelligent and creative. For example, he invents an alter-ego named Xavier, a pillar of physical, emotional, and moral strength. He says that when the goin' gets tough, he becomes Xavier in order to cope. Chris works a string of low-paying jobs in order to support his family. He also suffers through a string of dead-end relationships with young ladies. (In one scene, Chris has an interesting conversation with a romantic prospect about relationships in their socio-economic strata.) Chris finally appears to be getting it together, but his family's extreme dysfunction proves to be too much. Chris eventually wigs out and gets himself into a lot of trouble. All hope is not lost lost after this incident, though.
This documentary is a raw, unbiased look at life in Appalachia. You will never forget Cody and Chris. I came away from my viewing experience loving Cody and being simultaneously hopeful for and frustrated with Chris. In fact, there were moments when I wanted to jump through the TV screen and strangle Chris and/or hug Cody. Also, I thought both boys were a bit disrespectful to their teachers, but I guess that's just because I am one. At around six hours, this DVD is a committment, but it is so worth the effort to get to "know" these guys. There are also special features that allow you to see what happens to the film's subjects after the cameras stop rolling.
This film is by no means perfect. For one thing, I feel that it fails to tie up loose ends in some ways. For instance, we never find out why Mitzi, one of the boys' teachers resigns in Part II. Also, the issues in Jessica's parents' marriage are not explored to my satisfaction. I feel that these issues are a major reason why Jessica is in such a rush to marry Cody and leave home. In addition, I think the documentary occasionally caves into cultural stereotyping (i.e. all the gratuitous trailer/squalor footage). Finally, I think viewers could be provided with more backstory on Chris' parents. They've been married and divorced to each other seven times. I think this information would've been useful as a means of explaining why they are the way they are at the time of filming. It would also give viewers more empathy toward Chris, considering the fact that most of the footage shows him complaining about his situation, getting mad, and/or making excuses for why he constantly fails. Still, I highly recommend Country Boys to anyone in search of genuine "reality" TV.