Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is powerful, inspirational, and emotional, a must-watch.

That the filmmakers manage to address so much of such a complicated life in just over 90 minutes speaks highly to their effectiveness, vision and economy.

This documentary is about resilience and advocacy, but most of all it is a love story.

The film and the ticktock of recovery it follows are at times difficult to watch. At the same time, watching feels almost necessary in an age when mass shootings seem to have become all too common.

Irrespective of what the future holds in terms of gun control, the movie is a striking portrait of a married couple who expected one kind of life, got another, and are making something useful from their misfortune.

Even during more analytic or crusading sections, the documentary’s mood never strays from inspirational.

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down is a film about grit. It’s a film about feminism, change-making, and defying adversity.