mental illness – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Girl, Interrupted (1999)

October 1, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., DramaTagged 1960s, adaptation, Angelina Jolie, biopic, Brittany Murphy, Clea DuVall, Drama, Elisabeth Moss, Jared Leto, mental illness, Oscars, Susanna Kaysen, Vanessa Redgrave, Whoopi Goldberg, Winona RyderLeave a comment

Susanna (Winona Ryder) is committed by her parents after combining pills and vodka in what they see as an attempted suicide. In Cleymore mental hospital she meets the other patients, including the rabble rousing sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie)

Adapted from Susanna Kaysen’s autobiographical account of her 18 month stay in a mental hospital in 1960s by the writers of Gorillas In The Mist and Walk The Line.

The fantastic cast includes Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Elisabeth Moss, Brittany Murphy, Clea DuVall and Jared Leto; and that\s not even mentioning Jolie’s Oscar winning performance. This film is dark, magnificent and truly unforgettable.

100 Word Review – Benny & Joon (1993)

September 12, 2015April 15, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged Aiden Quinn, Buster Keaton, Comedy, Drama, Johnny Depp, Julianne Moore, Mary Stuart Masterson, mental illness, Oliver Platt, RomanceLeave a comment

This might be my favourite Johnny Depp film.

Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) is mentally unwell. Her father Benny (Aiden Quinn) struggles to protect her the way he feels he should. Then they meet Sam (Johnny Depp), an awkward man with an obsession for silent stars like Buster Keaton.

Masterson is wonderful as the emotionally delicate Joon who is fighting for whatever independence she can get.

This film is perfect. It takes a sensitive and dark subject matter and normalises it, adding in the quirks we would expect from any Rom Com. Look out for co-stars Oliver Platt and Julianne Moore.

100 Word Review – Lars and The Real Girl (2007)

August 22, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Comedy, Drama, Emily Mortimer, family, mental illness, Nancy Oliver, Paul Schneider, Ryan GoslingLeave a comment

One of the best films I have ever seen about coping with mental illness in a loved one.

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is an awkward young man who brings his girlfriend over for dinner with his brother (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer). She is a sex doll called Bianca, that Lars ordered online and is having a deep and meaningful relationship with.

Writer Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under, True Blood) was nominated for an Oscar for her work. This film is moving beyond belief, but in a really happy way. It’s touching and subtle and dry and very very human.

100 Word Review – Welcome To Me (2014)

August 11, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, F-RatedTagged Alan Tudyk, Comedy, Drama, James Marsden, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Cusack, Kristen Wiig, Linda Cardellini, mental illness, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Robbins, tv, Wes BentleyLeave a comment

Is there nothing that Kristen Wiig can’t do?

Alice Klieg (Wiig), a woman with an Oprah Winfrey obsession, goes off her psychiatric meds, wins the lottery and decides to host her own talk show with her winnings.

James Marsden, Linda Cardellini, Joan Cusack, Alan Tudyk, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Wes Bentley all co-star in this simultaneously funny and moving story about how we perceive ourselves and how that can be distorted by mental illness and television.

Wiig is sublime as Alice, demonstrating a mastery of comic timing and intimate moments that gives the film its edge. A must-see.