‘Supernova’ by Harry Macqueen

Tusker and Sam have been together for over twenty years. Tusker is an author and Sam, a pianist and composer. After Tusker finds out that he has early onset dementia, the couple decides to take a road trip around the United Kingdom to visit their favourite places. Tusker’s dementia progresses throughout the film, and it is revealed that he has been trying to hide this progression from Sam. After a party with their family and friends, Sam discovers that Tusker has recorded a verbal suicide note and acquired a fatal dose of medication to end his life. In the recording, he states that he intends to do it soon, while Sam is performing Piano at his upcoming, self-professed, last ever performance. Sam confronts Tusker and tells him that he intends to care for him into old age, and that he does not want Tusker to ‘“let him off the hook’”. After the confrontation, Sam comes to understand Tusker’s reasons for wanting to end his life before he is fully dependent on others, and states that he will allow him to do it if he can be present for his final moments.

Supernova is set in the United Kingdom, within the context of the Suicide Act of 1961 which criminalized any attempt to assist in the suicide of another person. Implicitly, this film argues for the decriminalization of suicide, and perhaps even for the legalization of euthanasia. The Suicide Act contributes to Tusker's desire to die alone in order to protect Sam from prosecution: If Sam is performing in front of an audience at the time of Tusker's death, he is guaranteed an alibi and more likely to be found innocent of any involvement with Tusker's actions. The film thus suggests that individuals with degenerative illnesses who wish to end their lives are faced with a difficult decision: they must either choose to have their family present at the time of their death, risking their prosecution under the Suicide Act, or to die alone. The film also illustrates that Tusker chooses to end his life when he is still capable of carrying out his plan unaided, potentially ending his life earlier than he otherwise would have had assisted death been legal.