Delicate and brilliant portrayal of Schizophrenia...

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2010)

As a psychiatrist, and a person who has spent his career working directly with individuals with severe persistent mental illness, I found Jaime Foxx's portrayal of Nathaniel Ayers, a Julliard drop-out struggling with life on the streets of Los Angeles, and with schizophrenia, to be nothing short of brilliant. Mr. Foxx opened a window into the complexity of this fascinating but troubling disorder, while leaving Mr. Ayers', and by association, all those afflicted with schizophrenia's, dignity intact. In some ways he even elevated these "lost" members of our society to a much more human status than they are often given by the media and Hollywood. Robert Downy Jr.'s character, the columnist Steve Lopez, is also brilliantly played. His struggle with his own fallibility, and his self-doubt that has obviously grown from past failures, is palpable, but subtly presented so that he does not appear a tragic character, but a real man struggling with commitment and fearing his own inability to meet the expectations of others. Watching him re-attach to others out of necessity at first, then out of a love for Mr. Ayers, was redemptive and hopeful, and sent a message that needs to be heard by men all over! My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that psychiatry's role is somewhat belittled in this telling of the real life story of Nathaniel Ayers. While there are reasons enough to be suspicious of my profession, it doesn't help when psychiatrists are treated as outsiders in the lives of their patients. (Fortunately, this movie did not take the path of making psychiatrists appear sinister, as is often the case in Hollywood fare.) In conclusion, I can say only thank you Jaime Foxx, Robert Downey Jr., Steve Lopez, Susannah Grant, Joe Wright, and most of all, Nathaniel Ayers, for letting us see into your world and for helping us understand!