Who would have thought that 8 minutes of television could draw you in and hold on?
I wouldn’t have. But Quibi is going to teach me what I need.
Not what I think I want.
Let me start by saying that Survive is triggering and touches on suicide. And by touches on – there is more blood in these 8 minutes than I would ever care to see. But it’s there and even though this is something I normally wouldn’t watch – I am.
Because Sophie Turner.
Sophie Turner stars as Jane. She’s a young woman haunted by both her father and grandmother’s suicide. She’s in Lifehouse, and has been for almost a year – recovering from her own suicide attempt.
An attempt where she didn’t want to take her own life, but wanted to be seen. She wanted to be loved.
Lifehouse is a place for 14-22 year olds, suffering from many different and distinct challenges.
Jane is being released. She’s telling everyone the things that they want to hear. She’s haunted by nightmares and her roommate cries that she will miss her. Jane says that she can come see her, but her roommate knows that she is lying.
Though Jane will tell you that she is bad at lying. However, is she? One has to wonder, because she’d made it clear that she really doesn’t want to survive.
Jane’s telling the world what they want to hear, while consistently being haunted by the past. She can picture the cutting of her wrists, the attempts to bleed out, and her Mom finding her.
She can see the scars and hold onto them. She knows the world can see them too.
But Jane, she’s not letting anyone think that she doesn’t have her shit together. She pieces together all of the right words for her doctors and the staff.
She’s unbothered by having to shower and be watched. She’s unfazed by the world around her, because she’s got plans. And her plans are hers.
She’s been in Lifehouse and knows all the secrets, including the code to the pharmacy, where we see Jane put together a bottle of pills before she’s set to leave. Here’s me – wondering how no one has ever pieced together that the kids in the place are stealing pills.
Confused AF.
Her roommate hears her come and go. Jane tells her to go back to sleep.
And you remember how Jane said that she wasn’t a good liar? Well, maybe she’s the best one of them all.
Survive is graphic, but Sophie Turner as Jane draws you in from the beginning, while you anxiously await what is in her mind, what she’s going to allow you to know and see.
Survive is one of Quibi’s movies that is split into 7-10 minute sections. While I have only watched the first episode so far, I am hoping that everything isn’t tied up in a pretty bow at the end of every episode.
I want something that is going to have me aching to press play for the next episode and not make me okay to wait on it as I move on to the next thing on my list.
Survive is airing on Quibi now.
