My Dead Body, Channel 4, review: more than just a documentary

Dead bodies on TV are worth 10 cents, whether it’s a real puppet posing as a murder victim or a deceased patient in a medical drama played by an extra with impressive breath control. But the real dead are rarely shown on prime-time television. For this reason alone my corpse stood out from the rest of yesterday’s program.

The body in question was that of Toni Crews, who was 30 years old when she died of cancer. It started in her lacrimal gland, which is responsible for producing tears, but quickly spread to her brain, lungs and abdomen – PET scans late in her life showed hundreds of tumors. In an amazingly selfless act, Toni decided not only to donate her body to science, but also to waive her right to anonymity after death, becoming the first person in Britain to do so. This meant that her body was on public display for the first time and, crucially for Channel 4, the cameras were able to capture her decay.

Professor Claire Smith, senior anatomist at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, could hardly contain her excitement at the prospect of leading such a groundbreaking project. But she wasn’t too clinical; On the contrary, Smith was keenly aware of the importance of Tonya’s “gift” to the medical community and was determined to ensure that Tonya’s wishes were granted – that her death would mean something, have an impact on the world. As such, Smith provided an excellent guide to one of the strangest yet most profound documentaries of the year.

Tony’s body was laid out in front of the lab, ready for dozens of medical students to eagerly await their classes. It was strange to see her naked face. But not as strange as when Smith and her colleagues pierced her skull with a knife and then a chainsaw. Thanks to the embalming process, there was no blood, and my repressed fear of blood quickly dissipated.

It was hard to reconcile Tony’s body with the living, breathing mother of two pictured in photos and home videos earlier in the show. One student summed up the process perfectly: “It’s just… surreal.”

That the process was filmed was pure coincidence; Tony’s autopsy would have happened with or without Channel 4 cameras. The lack of insistence on entertainment gave the film an intimate, sensitive atmosphere that made poignant moments (such as when Tony’s body was returned to the funeral home’s care and Smith became emotional) even more poignant.

The medical side of the documentary required the highest level of professionalism, which could often be mistaken for cold detachment. But director Sophie Robinson (who also made excellent films for Netflix) My beautiful broken brain as well as Surgeon’s incision), make sure you spend enough time with Tony’s loved ones to take care of them my corpse Heart. Although her parents were incredibly saddened by their daughter’s death, they were equally proud of their decision, and while they found it difficult to sit down with Smith and listen to the details of her autopsy, they remained impressively wise about Tony’s plans for her body. . .

Through the magic of artificial intelligence, Toni told the story of her life by generating her voice from audio and video recordings recorded during her lifetime. We learned how she endured an abusive relationship with her ex-partner and dreamed of becoming a doctor or nurse herself.

She was a happy woman with a great sense of humor determined to make the most of a dire situation – after having her eye removed, she began creating her own colorful eye patches, and when she saw a niche in the market, she planned to turn their hobby into a job. . She wanted to help people like her.

She never had an opportunity in life, but after death, her altruism is likely to change lives. Credits tell us that since then my corpse was filmed, Tony’s body was used to train 800 doctors and nurses, and she will train 10,000 more over the next five years. Your donation to cancer research is immeasurable and your dream of leaving a legacy has come true for me. I will definitely never forget the name Tony Crews.