In the beginning, the purpose of the film is to dissect the ways in which the effects of an event of this magnitude ripple into the lives of those surrounding the event; yet in the end, that purpose shifts, and instead of reliving the events of the past, the goal then serves to promote living for the events that have yet to come. This is a story of hope, tragedy, addiction, friendship, faith, serenity, forgiveness, compassion, and ultimately the power of family love.
Kevin Natale lived a Brady-Bunchesque childhood in the suburbs of Ventura, a quaint surfing town on the coast of Southern California. He was an energetic kid; he came home dirty; he got sunburned; he played Tee Ball; he wasn’t in a gang or mixed up in drugs; he was, for lack of a better word, normal.
On January 12, 1994, nine days after Kevin’s 14th birthday, his so-called “normal” life came to an abrupt halt when a clinically depressed neighbor who lived across the street barged into the Natale home toting rubber gloves, handcuffs, and a loaded 9mm handgun. Kevin woke up in a pool of blood on his kitchen floor. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t talk. In an instant, Kevin became a quadriplegic. Now, he has spent as much of his life in the wheelchair as he had out of the wheelchair.
Thy Will Be Done is part historical documentary, part Cinema Verite; taking it’s viewers back in time to relive the shooting, followed by highlighting the highs and lows of the 14yrs that followed, and ultimately ex-exploring where the characters reside today. In aims of getting the whole story from either side of the gun, the mother of the perpetrator is also a recurring fixture throughout the documentary.