I Can I Will I Did is a 2018 drama about a depressed foster youth who, after a car accident, meets a fellow patient at the hospital who breathes hope into his life.
Just before his eighteenth birthday, Ben (Mike Faist) is having a rough year, outcast at school, failing some of his classes, and most troubling, bullied by a trio of thugs who routinely, aggressively harass him, recently stealing his expensive headphones. Living in a foster home with a kindly woman (Selenis Leyva) caring for two other younger children, he lies to her to make her not worry about his lot in life. This all changes when on one afternoon, his bullies chase him into the street where he’s struck by a car, leaving him temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. Giving up, he meets Adrienne (Ellie Lee), a wheelchair bound girl who struggles to help him recover, soon enlisting her Korean grandfather Master Kang (Ik Jo Kang), a Taekwondo instructor, to help him find his way.
A family film hinged entirely on inspiration, writer/director Nadine Truong‘s I Can I Will I Do is a surprisingly effective story that doesn’t pull any punches, if you’ll forgive the phrase. While it might play into the conventions of the genre, it’s nonetheless an often gripping account held together by its grounded performances, led by Faist, who feels authentic from the start. His isn’t an overly sentimental performance, but rather a realistic turn from a young man who embraces not just the plight of his character’s physical condition but the consequences of such. Lee also delivers, reminding the audience that while Ben recovers, there are others that face the opposite.
The film juggles a lot of balls, with foster care, bullies, accidents, health recovery, and cultural diversity, not to mention some hard hitting life choices. What’s best about the film is how it subverts – even takes jabs at – the tropes of like stories, with it striking at the often empty platitudes many movies of recovery cling to. Sure, the film healthily adopts some standards, with an elder Asian mentor guiding a young troubled teen perhaps the most obvious, yet this isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. The real story is between Faist and Adrienne, who find strength in each other while battling a series of hurdles that constantly challenge them.
Taekwondo plays a major role in the story, with 78-year-old Grand Master Ik Jo Kang essentially playing himself in his film debut. His presence is as expected, yet he has a powerful impact, his authenticity lending much to the outcome, even as the story lets it never be about him. He doles out plenty of insights and words of wisdom, but in a script as well-written as this, none feel forced. Yes, this is a family film with a purpose, but it at least finds ways to stand on its own.
I Can I Will I Do follows a pattern and ultimately does what a film as such needs to, though does it with great conviction while never playing down to its audience. It’s small budget might limit a bit of the gloss of a bigger production, but its characters and attention to detail really help to give it some significance. A terrific family night at the movies. Highly recommended.