Perhaps the most consistent human reaction to suffering is indifference, and, in a paradoxically twisted way, that’s kind of a consequence of empathy. Call it “pain-responsive apathy,” if you will. The more we learn about and engage with a painful tragedy or a cruel condition, the more it affects us and the guiltier we feel. That’s why most people would rather donate money from a distance than get physically involved; it’s less painful to write a check to a dog shelter than to see the loneliness of caged pups, many of whom are destined to die. This phenomenon can be applied more personally; it’s sad and awkward to visit your grandparents in a nursing home or talk to a truly depressed friend. The new film Reeling intimately explores this tendency, evoking pain-responsive apathy in a way that makes the audience feel the same as the uncomfortable characters on screen.