MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: Mostly A Success

Michael Apted’s groundbreaking Up series, which recently saw its latest release 63 Up, has inspired a range of longitudinal case studies through audio-visual mediums. Award-winning photographer Pamela Littky delivers a fascinating new entry to the canon with Most Likely To Succeed, a documentary film made over ten years following four bright students who each receive the titular denomination at the end of high school. 

A motley crew in Obama’s America

There are two white teens from affluent backgrounds – Sarah Kaiser-Cross from Florida, president of about five things, and Angeleno Peter Hayes, who graduated with GPA 4.41 – and two black teens who don’t have the safety net of wealth underneath them – Charles Rider aka Disco, who won the Student Athlete of the Year, and Quidrela “Quay” Lewis, who was the treasurer of her class.

We begin in 2007, an interesting year, for neither the students nor the filmmaker would expect the erosion of economic success as the financial crisis would hit America the following year. On the other hand, the country would give way to its first black president, an emblem of aspiration for black students. But, throughout the decade, Littky doesn’t really cast her eye towards the sociopolitical circumstances, preferring to focus on the personal goals of this disparate quartet.

Upon leaving high school, Peter says he wants to be a teacher. Disco is only certain of one thing and that’s to get married. Sarah wants to travel around the world and intern for an ambassador or work for an embassy. Quay remains open-minded about uncertainty – she knows her idea of success is based on having a career instead of taking on any job, but as of yet her career ideas are undefined.

It ties into a realisation Sarah later has – in high school you only know the limited options presented to you, but afterwards you figure out what you’re really interested in. For her, that means a specific interest in the religious conflict in the Middle East after a visit to Israel. As aforementioned, Littky is less interested in the wider world than she is in the characters’ own worlds, but it’s impossible to unlink the two when comparing the opportunities presented to the white middle-class folks compared to the African-Americans from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Success isn’t the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success”

Apted’s thesis for the Up series is the Jesuit motto “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man”, which he succinctly uses to connect the dots between social class and success among his wide-ranging subjects. Some crossover is present here as Quay speaks of the college-related struggles after a loan doesn’t come through, whilst Sarah is grateful for the privilege afforded by parents who’ve paid for her boarding and tuition fees – presumably her travel to over 30 countries too.

So, ultimately, the results of this experiment – at least, speaking on grounds of social class and race – are unsurprising. But does getting a high-paying job or going to college ultimately define success? As Peter realises, it’s about living a fulfilling life rather than building an empire. So whilst Sarah relishes the experience of living in four continents by the time she’s 25, what makes Disco feel accomplished is his eventual marriage to his college sweetheart.

There’s something about Littky’s choice of music that harms her analysis though. For Quay and Disco, who both suffer setbacks in the form of death and break-ups, the accompanying soundtrack is moody and sombre – something you’d hear when Trey Edward Schults shrinks the aspect ratio – whilst it’s upbeat and joyful for the other two, who get through their twenties seemingly almost conflict-free. 

Toying with the idea that success is inevitable

This edit virtually puts a lid on the question of “What is success?” as it suggests fates have already been decided; the music subconsciously works against the inexactness of what constitutes success for each individual, giving the impression that the characters are resigned to their circumstances. Whether that’s ultimately the reality or not, the implications of their futures – both actively in the viewing experience and in the ideas we may walk away with at the end – are too unambiguous and in contrast to the theme.

Aside from that, Most Likely To Succeed, is well edited, ziplining between the four characters every two years, condensing the periods into bite sized pieces in half the time of Boyhood and with more direct footage than the Up series. Littky’s ambition for this project is evident from day-one (we hear characters speaking on their phones about the crew from the “most likely to succeed documentary”, if there’s any idea that the film was found in post-production) and it’s a major testament to her ability that the contributors trust her to be in their lives for so long.

From the outset, she establishes an aesthetic heavy on actuality, particularly observations between loved ones, and probably has enough footage to have made her film four times longer. Her delicate skill to capture the intimate and personal far overrides the low count of pixels, something which is slowly upgraded over the years.

Most Likely To Succeed: Conclusion

Whilst occasionally letting her film down with some editing choices that put the subjects in a box, Pamela Littky has made a really interesting film on the open-ended definition of success and the ever-shifting approach to pursue it. Most Likely To Succeed reaffirms the dispiriting correlation between professional success and racial and class divide, as subtly depicted by the filmmaker who otherwise highlights personal development and happiness as the more important measures of success. 

We begin with four archetypes – the shy one, the nerd, the athlete, the class leader – who are identified by the great potential that they share, before the director’s lens renders them as distinct individuals for whom the definition of success varies in unique ways, each one of them compelling and valid.

What happened to the student who was voted ‘most likely to succeed’ in your school? Let us know in the comments below.

Most Likely To Succeed opens in select US cinemas on December 6th 2019. It is currently seeking distribution in the UK and other territories.