While there is a documentary-like authenticity to much of his work, particularly his early films, director Ramin Bahrani hasn’t directed his first feature-length non-fiction film until this year with 2nd Chance. Profiling the rise and fall of Richard Davis, the Sundance hit captures the life of the bulletproof vest magnate who shot himself 192 times as part of marketing ploys for his product. His story takes much more peculiar turns from there and ahead of a December 2 release, the first trailer has arrived from Bleecker Street and Showtime.
Jake Kring-Schreifels said in his review, “It’s an eerie image. Richard Davis stands out in a field, wearing a kevlar vest, and points a pistol into his belly. Then he pulls the trigger, skips back a bit, and checks his red-burned skin. Over the course of his life, he would do this—shoot himself—192 times, proving the efficacy of his life-saving device in the most visceral and operatic way possible. “A lot of people think I’m stupid for doing this,” he tells the camera before one of these high-wire demonstrations, and for just a moment, an air of unpredictability hangs over this bullet-proof vest magnate’s next move. In 2nd Chance, Oscar-nominated director Ramin Bahrani burrows into that volatile, near-fatal showmanship, attempting to get to the bottom of an empire’s rise and fall.”
See the trailer and poster below.
2nd Chance opens in theaters on December 2.