Granger Taylor is a lovable giant with a knack for putting together all things mechanical. Granger once found an old fuselage from a small plane in a nearby forest, and out came Kitty Hawk, a brand-spanking new single engine plane ready to roar through Duncan skies. Granger found an old locomotive in the same forest and, later turned out a steam engine that kids and adults adored. He was obviously a mechanical genius of some kind. Quiet, strong and socially awkward. But the real question is how did Granger go missing and why are some people saying that Granger felt that aliens were inviting him to leave?
Granger’s photos portray a quiet, introverted person with few friends. He’s a single guy whose always alone with his machines. Everyone finds his passion to be infectious. The neighbourhood kids love him and spend inordinate amount of time in his workshop. He is a sweet man with an extreme gift of putting mechanical parts together.
So, it’s November 3rd and raining like crazy. That’s something childhood friend Kelly Cooper claims to be rare for the township of Duncan. Granger tells Kelly that aliens will show up on the night of a major storm like this one. Now it has happened. Granger goes missing and leaves behind a note telling Mom and Dad that his interstellar flight has arrived and that he’ll be gone for 42 months. That’s how he left. Granger, the lovable genius, was never seen again.
On the day he goes missing, a next door neighbour hears a loud bang in the forest. The husband turns to his wife and says, “Granger’s gone.” Six years later, in the forest, they find a truck that’s been obliterated. It’s the same make as Granger’s. Everyone knew that he had explosives to destroy tree stumps. But that’s not very reassuring for those who want to believe that aliens picked him up. So they search for alternative explanations, like claiming the explosives weren’t enough to destroy an entire car. They could be right. The entire car was obliterated after all.
Clearly, Spaceman isn’t about aliens. It’s not some unequivocal proof that aliens exist. It’s really about Granger’s family. They loved him enough to immortalize him through this documentary. If anything, it is a heartfelt biography offering interviews from sister, step-brothers, half-brothers, childhood friends and townsfolk. And, in between takes, you get a series of black and white still shots charting a chronology of his life, both backwards and forwards, showing off mechanical genius, certainly one of a kind.
But surrounding this family recollection is an incontrovertible lack of evidence of how Granger actually lived. It’s a sensitive topic for sure. Everyone family has fights and especially with members that are different in a significant way. Near the end of the film, it’s mentioned that Granger could have done some drugs, especially psychedelics. Many addicts commit suicide. Many more family members hide the truth. Is it insensitive to ask what really happened, especially since mental illness awareness is still at an all-time low?
No one wants to cause more pain. No one wants to hunt for a story where it is none of their business. Family’s have the right to their privacy, and although people may question this since the Taylor family put out this documentary, we still can choose what to say or what to ask for. Personally, I think Granger was desperately lonely and perhaps reaching an impasse. Maybe he couldn’t get through it with his family around. Maybe he killed himself or maybe he left Duncan for good.
The legend of Graham Taylor will live on. It is an interesting story. Master Tinkerer. Explorer of space. Beloved family member and neighbourhood genius. This documentary is well-made and entertaining. But it does seem to conceal the story more than explain it. I don’t think aliens picked up Granger at all, but it is an experience to watch families members who need to believe it.
Watch Spaceman at CBC, here.
Here’ the production company, Alibi Productions.