Bill W.: the reluctant founder of a movement

The excellent documentary Bill W. tells the story of Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and it’s quite a story.  We see Wilson’s own battle with the bottle, including a pivotal moment when he is about to enter a hotel bar in Akron, but instead decides “to call another drunk”.  The story follows his cobbling together what became the 12 step model and his keeping alive the AA movement in its early days.  But the most compelling story – and the heart of the film – is Bill Wilson.

Wilson was a reluctant movement leader.  His primary passion was for business, in which his drinking killed his potential success.  Instead, he achieved fame and historical importance in a field not of his choosing.  As the founder, he could have easily formed AA into a hierarchy with himself at the top – and AA as his personal power base.  But, once AA could stand on its own, he chose to walk away from its leadership.  His decision not to commercialize AA deprived himself of a millionaire’s lifestyle.

Producer and co-director Dan Carracino reminded the audience at my screening that the movie aims to tell the story of Bill Wilson, not to be an exhaustive history of AA.

Because Bill W. primarily uses historical film footage and photos for visuals, and the recorded voice of Wilson himself, along with talking heads who knew him, the audience gets a solid sense of his personality.  There are some visual re-enactments (of Wilson’s drinking days  and early AA meetings) that are successful because they are narrated by the real Bill W. himself.

I was fortunate to see the film in an audience that contained over 200 AA members, and they responded especially favorably to the film.  At its core, Bill W. tells a fascinating story, and I would recommend it for anyone.  Bill W. is being self-distributed with both special screenings and theater runs in various cities.