Alessandro Capone's Hidden Love (2010) is a very well executed, and thought provoking film, with great acting by the whole cast, and especially by Huppert. But as a film fanatic with a BA/MA in Psychology, I just can't buy this film as an expression Of Cinematic Realism in any way, because the storyline just doesn't portray severe mental illness, life in a mental hospital, or the behavior of a professional psychiatrist in very realistic terms.
Examples: 1) The type of severe psychosis exhibited by Danielle just doesn't "magically" disappear like it did at the end of this film, even given a "life changing" event, like the sudden death of Danielle's daughter. 2) A mental hospital would have a psychotic patient like Danielle in a monitored "locked ward", and not roaming free having violent episodes in the hallway, and having access to pills in the way that this film portrays Danielle. 3) The portrayal of the "sympathetic" Dr Nielsen getting so emotionally involved with the psychotic Danielle is unreal, because you learn in Psych 101 that a therapist who becomes emotionally involved with a patient loses his therapeutic effectiveness. From a Realist perspective, this is just a psychiatric film from outer space.
However, this film does work very well for me as an Avant Garde portrayal of feminist maternal anxiety.
A feminist interpretation of this film works because ALL the main characters are women, and also because it passes the Bechdel Test many multiple times ad nauseam.
The Avant Garde angle works because of the elements of radical cinematography, a couple of weird symbolic scenes toward the end of the film showing Danielle with her now dead daughter, and some elements of radical editing in the film.
This in no way means that I would necessarily buy into the message of such an Avant Garde feminist interpretation of this film, but I would accept as being within the scope of the creative freedom of the filmmaker.
Isabelle Huppert gives a fantastic, believable, and somewhat technically accurate portrayal of a psychotic woman. However, having already viewed a number of Huppert's films, I would say that she seems to be attracted to roles that portray somewhat deranged women, in general.
This film definitely did give me much reason for pause and reflection. It is a very well thought out, and provocative film.
Examples: 1) The type of severe psychosis exhibited by Danielle just doesn't "magically" disappear like it did at the end of this film, even given a "life changing" event, like the sudden death of Danielle's daughter. 2) A mental hospital would have a psychotic patient like Danielle in a monitored "locked ward", and not roaming free having violent episodes in the hallway, and having access to pills in the way that this film portrays Danielle. 3) The portrayal of the "sympathetic" Dr Nielsen getting so emotionally involved with the psychotic Danielle is unreal, because you learn in Psych 101 that a therapist who becomes emotionally involved with a patient loses his therapeutic effectiveness. From a Realist perspective, this is just a psychiatric film from outer space.
However, this film does work very well for me as an Avant Garde portrayal of feminist maternal anxiety.
A feminist interpretation of this film works because ALL the main characters are women, and also because it passes the Bechdel Test many multiple times ad nauseam.
The Avant Garde angle works because of the elements of radical cinematography, a couple of weird symbolic scenes toward the end of the film showing Danielle with her now dead daughter, and some elements of radical editing in the film.
This in no way means that I would necessarily buy into the message of such an Avant Garde feminist interpretation of this film, but I would accept as being within the scope of the creative freedom of the filmmaker.
Isabelle Huppert gives a fantastic, believable, and somewhat technically accurate portrayal of a psychotic woman. However, having already viewed a number of Huppert's films, I would say that she seems to be attracted to roles that portray somewhat deranged women, in general.
This film definitely did give me much reason for pause and reflection. It is a very well thought out, and provocative film.