DC Area Premiere

Struck down mid-performance by a massive cerebral hemorrhage in 2004, it looked like 34-year-old musician Jason Crigler would likely die. Yet, from the start, Jason’s wife Monica refused to accept the possibility that Jason might not survive.
 
LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC. captures the enormous effort put forth by Jason and his family as he fought to recover. Monica—then pregnant with their daughter Ellie—and Jason’s parents and siblings joined forces to provide remarkable care for Jason, both at the hospital and then, as treatment options began to dwindle, at home. After 18 months of intensive therapy and home care, Jason regained his memory and sense of self. Though he progressed from being comatose to a vegetative state to being aware but severely disabled, he was not the same. Could he return to being a husband or a musician? Could he take on the new responsibility of being a father?

Eric Daniel Metzgar deftly weaves together interview, archival, vérité and stylized scenes to give the viewer a sense of whom Jason was prior to his brain injury, and to evoke the sense of loss his family and friends feel as Jason fights for his life. While the film addresses music, medicine and tragedy, it is primarily about love, faith, stubbornness, sacrifice and compassion. While you wait to see whether Jason will recover any aspects of his old self, you will be inspired by Jason’s effort and the remarkable dedication of his family and friends.


—D.B. Garland