GUIDANCE is the hilarious and touching story of the long descent to rock bottom. David (writer/director Pat Mills) is a former child actor who fills his days with booze, cigarettes and a longing for times past. A time when things were simple, and he understood who he was and how he fit in to the world. Add to this a denial of his own sexuality and a crippling sense of self-loathing, and you have a ticking timebomb. David is flailing – looking for any semblance of a solid foundation to try to convince himself that he is not a horrific fuck-up and that he has something to offer.
Desperate for money, on the verge of eviction, and determined to prove that he is a functioning adult with plenty of options, David applies for a job as a guidance counselor at a local high school. Not having an ounce of actual relatable experience, he approaches the interview as he would an audition, preparing by watching Youtube videos of real counselors discussing their craft and their approach to interacting and connecting with teenagers. He even assumes the identity of one such individual, and proceeds through the interview process under his new alias. His acting skills are still sharp enough, and he says all the right things (and the school is desperate for a replacement), so he is hired, and invited to make an impact in the lives of young, impressionable, lost kids, when he can’t even look in the mirror and figure out his own issues.
In the role, David is simply the worst/best guidance counselor ever. He takes an all-too-honest approach and dispenses comical, completely inappropriate advice to students seeking his assistance. You’re shy? Have a drink and gain confidence. You’re about to be expelled for fucking around in class? Let’s transfer you to the super-smart school because you’re clearly too intelligent for this pleb institution. People judge you for dressing promiscuously? To hell with those assholes! Slut it up! He relates to the students on their level, which is simultaneously a good and a bad thing. Yes, they understand him and he's kind of giving them some of the ground rules of life, but he's not really challenging them to reach any further. Regardless, it’s hilarious, and David legitimately seems to be developing a rapport with these kids.
But David changing young lives is only half the story here. The other half is him learning to take his own advice. As entertaining as it is to see a grown man drinking and cursing with teenagers, this is really the story of how David needs to learn to let go and accept himself for who he is. So much of the advice that he doles out by the bucket load to the students seeking his wisdom should be turned inward. He has more than his share of demons, and they have brought him to a crossroads. He can’t run any longer, and his sense of denial has him on the verge of imploding.
And it is through this personal journey that the film really finds its soul. David is a character that, by all rights, we should despise. It really shouldn’t be any sort of fun to hang around with him at all (and it’s probably not – he has no friends and has systematically written off everyone in his life who has ever meant anything to him). Yet, we see the pain behind some of David’s more abhorrent behaviors, and we are privileged to be allowed to understand him.
Thoughtful, compassionate and entertaining - GUIDANCE is a biting look at the downward spiral that it can take to finally be able to look up and see yourself with a sense of clarity, and accept the person looking back.
Reviewed at the 2015 Seattle International Film Festival
