Helen (2009)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sandra Nettelbeck

Writer:

Sandra Nettelbeck (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 November 2009 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A talented professor is forced to come to terms with her clinical depression. |

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Clinical Depression | Best Friend | Ex Husband Ex Wife Relationship | Electroshock Therapy

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Ashley Judd	...	Helen
Goran Visnjic	...	David
Lauren Lee Smith	...	Mathilda
Alexia Fast	...	Julie
Alberta Watson	...	Dr. Sherman
David Nykl	...	John
David Hewlett	...	Frank
Leah Cairns	...	Susanna
Ali Liebert	...	Donna
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grace Bauer	...	Store Employee
Chaz Chamberlain	...	Man
Jonathan Holmes	...	Thief
Chelah Horsdal	...	Kara
Julia Keilty	...	Psych Nurse #1
Robin Nielsen	...	Young Man
Sunita Prasad
David Quinlan	...	Dan
Mylene Robic	...	Psych Nurse #2
Veena Sood	...	Defense Attorney
Malcolm Stewart	...	Wilkins
Ian Thompson	...	Bus Driver
Vanessa Burns	...	Mother (uncredited)

Directed by
Sandra Nettelbeck

Writing credits
Sandra Nettelbeck		(screenplay)

Produced by
Chris Curling	....	executive producer
Oliver De Caigny	....	associate producer
Christine Haebler	....	producer
Robert Little	....	executive producer
Doug Mankoff	....	executive producer
Jens Meurer	....	executive producer
Kirk Shaw	....	executive producer
Andrew Spaulding	....	executive producer
Judy Tossell	....	producer
Marc Wächter	....	line producer

Original Music by
James Edward Barker		(supervising composer)
Tim Despic

Cinematography by
Michael Bertl

Film Editing by
Barry Egan
Christian Lonk

Casting by
Pam Dixon
Jennifer Page

Production Design by
Linda Del Rosario

Art Direction by
Brian Kane

Set Decoration by
Brian Kane

Costume Design by
Bettina Helmi

Makeup Department
Gitte Axen	....	makeup artist: Ashley Judd
Sarah Bergeest	....	makeup artist
Leeann Charette	....	first assistant makeup artist
Susanne Woerle-Jiritano	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Tia Buhl	....	production manager
Todd Giroux	....	post-production manager
Tina Mersmann	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
S.A. Adelson	....	second unit director
Karin Behrenz	....	third assistant director
Bonnie Benwick	....	first assistant director
Rachel Leiterman	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Peter Bien	....	art department coordinator
Jean Brophey	....	on-set dresser
Moni El Batrik	....	on-set dresser
Margo Kaczynska McKenzie	....	paint coordinator
Megan Poss	....	set designer
Patricia Schwaertzel	....	first assistant props
Elizabeth Shelton	....	assistant art director
John Wilcox	....	co-paint coordinator

Sound Department
Alexander Buck	....	dialogue editor
Amy Giammarco	....	post audio coordinator
Tilman Hahn	....	sound editor
Chris Howland	....	additional boom operator
Robert Hunter	....	walla mixer
Stefan Korte	....	sound re-recording mixer
David Livingstone	....	adr boom operator
Christoph Oertel	....	foley recordist
Elda Pinckney	....	post audio administrative assistant
Laura Plock	....	foley editor
Carsten Richter	....	foley artist
Gordon Sproule	....	adr mixer
Alexander Vitt	....	adr editor
Guido Zettier	....	sound designer
Guido Zettier	....	supervising sound editor

Special Effects by
Brant McIlroy	....	special effects coordinator
Martin Testa	....	special effects first assistant

Visual Effects by
Matthias Albrecht	....	digital effects editor
Matthias Albrecht	....	digital film editor
Christoph Benden	....	digital compositor: RISE Visual Effects Berlin
Markus Degen	....	visual effects supervisor: RISE Visual Effects Berlin
Andreas Helm	....	film scanning
Andrea Jakob	....	film scanning
Claudia Lechen	....	digital compositor: RISE Visual Effects Berlin
Thomas Lehmann	....	digital effects artist
Thomas Lehmann	....	flame artist
Krista Lomax	....	digital effects artist
Brian Moylan	....	visual effects supervisor
Sandor Nagy	....	digital colourist
Sven Pannicke	....	visual effects producer: RISE Visual Effects Berlin
Maik Strauch	....	color timer
Robert Tucker	....	digital compositor: RISE Visual Effects Berlin
Jonathan Weber	....	digital compositor: RISE Visual Effects Berlin

Stunts
Janene Carleton	....	stunt double: Ashley Judd

Camera and Electrical Department
Ed Araquel	....	still photographer
Adam Bunz	....	best boy grip
Damon J. Evans	....	lighting technician
Liane Hentscher	....	still photographer
David-Wesley Kyle	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera (as David Wesley Kyle)
Trevor Leyenhorst	....	grip
Harald Mellwig	....	assistant camera
Emmanuelle Rousseau	....	assistant camera
Gary Stamford	....	set electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chrissie S. Armstrong	....	costumer: preparation
Nancy Duggan	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Adam Locke-Norton	....	additional editor
Christian Lonk	....	assembly editor
Ursina Merkt	....	post-production assistant
Gabriela Schultze	....	sales manager film lab

Music Department
James Edward Barker	....	musician: piano, percussion
James Edward Barker	....	score producer
Natasha Duprey	....	music clearances
Markus Glunz	....	music editor
Natalie Ann Holt	....	additional composer
James Loughrey	....	music mixer
Ian Neil	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Dorothe Beinemeier	....	production coordinator/assistant: Judy Tossell
Ian Doig	....	animal coordinator
Annette Drees	....	script supervisor
Danny Ho	....	video & computer playback supervisor
Doug Kerr	....	production assistant
Alison Low	....	assistant accountant
Grace MacLeod	....	animal trainer
Claudia Morgado Escanilla	....	additional script supervisor
Crystal Remmey	....	production coordinator
Tracey Renyard	....	location manager
Devi Singh	....	assistant: producer
Marie-Louise Stares	....	personal assistant: Director
John T.L. Tang	....	key production assistant
Anah Teele	....	personal assistant: Ashley Judd
Haydn Wazelle	....	assistant to producers
Daniella Wells	....	personal assistant: Ashley Judd
Gero Brugmann	....	legal advisor: financing (uncredited)

Thanks
Michael Schmid-Ospach	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Egoli Tossell Film
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• Insight Film Studios

Special Effects

• RISE Visual Effects Berlin

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• CinePostproduction  post-production
• DBC Sound  adr
• DBC Sound  walla
• Echo Lake Entertainment  co-development
• Post Modern Sound  ADR recording facility
• Tonstudio Hanse Warns  foley stage
• Veneration Music  score coordination
• Zettier Sound Design  sound design & editorial

Runtime:

USA:120 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Egoli Tossell Film

Trivia:

Ashley Judd had an attack of appendicitis while filming in a vacant wing of a hospital and was rushed to emergency surgery.

A Deeper Look At Mental Ilness in the Family

From a purely clinical standpoint, a purist would likely find that there are number of stylized caricatures, stereotypical performances, and clichés even in this fictionalized family drama even though writer/director Sandra Nettleback undertook her own research into the terrible affliction of what she calls "suicidal depression," in what amounted to a ten year project. Inspired by an article written by a man with severe depression and the suicide of a personal friend of her's more than a decade ago, this movie still contains numerous overtures to the more mainstream viewpoint of mental illness. However, this somewhat long movie continues to build and reveal a depth toward mental illness and its complications leading toward a somewhat more traditional ending. There are some parallels to "Girl Interrupted" (1999), particularly with the relationship developed between the two women in that movie and this movie. The sound track in this movie is superb and really adds a special intimacy and richness to this movie along with nice musical tracks. It is surprisingly Lauren Lee Smith as Mathilda that provides the most intriguing and authentic performance, though Ashley Judd's performance as well as Gorin Visnjic's performance may have suffered a bit more from a script developed by an outsider's view of mental illness rather than their acting ability themselves. This movie taken by a non-professional however, does offer up some of the dramatic aspects of mental illness and refers to a treatment that has been rarely mentioned anymore in mainstream movies on the topic. Overall, this movie deserves wider distribution to the general public as it provides a layperson's look into an important medical issue as well as maintaining a compelling dramatic appeal sufficient to offer the general audience the satisfaction of having experienced a meaningful and worthwhile movie. - Screened at the Sundance Film Festival- Eight out of Ten Stars.