Owen Ley
Directors on Directing
October 20, 2022
2nd Chance (2022)
2nd Chance is a documentary directed by Ramin Bahrani that presents a holistic view of
the life and legacy of Richard Davis, inventor of the bulletproof vest, which challenges our
perception of good and bad. The entire film is structured wonderfully, unfolding an increasingly
wild and emotional story at a compelling pace, with editing that intermixes heavier moments
with beats of humor. Bahrani manages to include a diverse array of interviews that touch on
every aspect of Davis and his effect on others, procuring emotional confessionals and honest
analyses with questions that aren’t afraid to prod deeper, especially into the outspoken Davis
himself. Despite the inherently controversial subject matter, Bahrani also does an excellent job at
simply presenting things as they are, without much external political commentary, allowing
viewers on either end of the political spectrum to be entertained and take away what they want
from it.
At first, Davis, quite a character, comes off as quirky, passionate, and somewhat likable.
Yet the more Bahrani reveals about him, the more his flaws are exposed, and the more unlikeable
he makes himself out to be. This trajectory mirrors that of his invention, a seemingly harmless
life-saving vest, yet one only made to protect those that brutally enforce the law and routinely
take the lives of others as part of their job description. He seems to value the lives of the police
above all else, so much so that he rewards cops who actually kill their shooters with a gun. It’s
this contradictory mission that essentially sums Davis up: good-intentioned on the surface, but
with a twisted ulterior motive. Davis’s ingrained narcissistic tendencies and personal beliefs
disable him from seeing any flaws with his motives and lead him to do anything to protect and
justify his actions.
Davis’s own view of good and bad embodies the larger theme present throughout the
documentary, and is the root of the events that transpire throughout his life. As the man who
Davis tried to force to take the blame for the stray bullet incident attempts to explain using the
Yin & Yang symbol, everyone has both good and bad in them, but to varying degrees. Davis
wholeheartedly devoted his life to 2nd Chance, believing he was doing the right thing and saving
lives, even when it meant causing the deaths of others to protect the company and the police it
served. To those around him, he definitely contained bad as well, but he did not recognize it as
such, speaking to the subjectivity of the definition of good and bad and how personal perspective
and experience can rewrite them.
I find the most meaningful and moving theme in the documentary to be that of
redemption, reflected in the title of the film, which is also the company name. Throughout, we
see redemption in various forms, especially in the lives of the officers the vest saved. When
Westrick reunites in the epilogue with the man he exchanged fire with, they immediately
embrace and break down, finally being able to express the mutual regret and sorrow they feel for
what happened between them. This shared redemption, a poignant moment that brought tears to
my eyes, embodies the true meaning behind the existence of this documentary. As someone
brought up in the discussion with Caveh, the film doesn’t explicitly discuss the politics of war
profiteering or policing. This documentary is deeper than surface level reactionary politics, it’s
about the complexity of human relationships, and the power they have to change (and save)
lives. And through 2nd Chance, whether for better or worse, Davis did exactly that.