I was largely 'ambivalent' (get it?)

Rating: 6/10 (10 May 2012)

I'm glad that films are being made about such subject matter because I find them interesting in general. In this film we have the potential for a very good film indeed. The acting is very good and there is strength in depth right down to Jeffrey Tambor (for 'Arrested Development' fans) and Vanessa Redgrave (who seems under-used). Jolie steals the show with her amazing portrayal of a sufferer of manic depression/bipolar (I think). Winona Ryder is also great and I think she's generally underrated.
I didn't really like the films direction in general. It was all about hi jinx and rebellion for most of the film, which is a bit of a Hollywood cliché. Maybe they wouldn't hit enough of a market if it was more focused on mental health and criticisms of the system which might still be levelled in this day and age. The hidden room, sneaking around and escaping were more tiresome elements. The film failed to be psychological in spite of all of the acting talent at the top of their games. I may need to read the book because it sounds like it's responsible for the good elements in the film.
Another thing for me was the cat. The cat was absolutely lovely and a good actor, but I couldn't help feel it was another of Hollywood's cheap tricks to seduce animal lovers like myself. I thought the cat had too much screen time I was a bit worried whether the cat was going to meet a sticky end (a la midnight express) but it was too much of a straight Hollywood film to get that dark (not that I wanted them to).
The final point is about the film's resistance to talk about mental illness (again, in spite of great acting performances). Ryder's character never really seems to get to the bottom of anything (on the screen anyway), she mentions BPD (which is said to be over-diagnosed in women) and I'm very concerned by the overused of the term disorder rather than symptom. Do we ever establish whether she was/is depressed at any point? The film also seems to carry a sixties attitude to people being 'crazy' or 'sane', that seemed to be tied to good/evil at some point. I don't really know if there were any useful messages about mental health in this film. There was such a lack of detail in the phase detailing her recovery was so rushed and seemed to deliberately avoid any real breakthroughs.
My summary. Great Acting + Poor Screenplay + Cute Cat = Okay Film.