What the negative reviews here do not understand is how very realistic and accurate this movie is. It's obvious some viewers came to be entertained... and missed the point of the movie entirely. This is not a movie intended to entertain; it is intended to inform and educate.
I had a close family member with undiagnosed major epilepsy for many years. There is nothing more frustrating than to have test after test after test, only to have supposed specialists look you in the eye and tell you "There's nothing wrong"... when very obviously something is wrong.
The downsides:
* The beginning and ending narratives could have been left out and the entire movie handled dramatically rather than using a cheap intro and exit. There is no "cheap intro" to mental illness. It can come on slowly or very quickly, but there is no convenient voice-over introduction.
* One scene of totally gratuitous nudity (without which this movie could have received a PG instead of PG-13 rating).
* The sudden far-too-short "picket fence" ending rather than the long-term, emotional, challenging-in-every-way recovery that was part of this process. Again the "cheap voice over exit" did the movie great disservice. I'd have liked to see another half hour added to it with a proper ending helping people to understand the entire thing, not just the hospital stay.
These issues are why I rate this 7 stars instead of 10. Nevertheless, what we see of the story was superbly done and deserves a nod of approval in making the public aware of some issues involved with mental illness-- not the least of which is medical incompetence and not caring enough about the patient to think outside the "standard diagnosis" box (something that I've seen over and over).
The acting was superb-- especially that of the main actress Chloe Moretz, who presented all issues from initial "blanking" to grand-mal seizures with astonishing realism.
The doctors were convincing. None of them were mean or had ill-intent; they were just incompetent and took a lot for granted. (Yes, I've significant observational experience with such medical staff. There's no end to the "we find nothing wrong" excuse rather than caring enough to find out what's wrong.) The frustration of the parents-- while seeming over the top-- quite realistic after going through so much garbage diagnosis they just couldn't take it any more. Not all people are like this... but such frustration is realistic.
In short, with the exceptions stated above this was a very well-written, well-directed and superbly-acted movie. If anyone wants to understand what people go through in a "brain fire" situation... this movie is about as good a presentation as I could imagine.
I had a close family member with undiagnosed major epilepsy for many years. There is nothing more frustrating than to have test after test after test, only to have supposed specialists look you in the eye and tell you "There's nothing wrong"... when very obviously something is wrong.
The downsides:
* The beginning and ending narratives could have been left out and the entire movie handled dramatically rather than using a cheap intro and exit. There is no "cheap intro" to mental illness. It can come on slowly or very quickly, but there is no convenient voice-over introduction.
* One scene of totally gratuitous nudity (without which this movie could have received a PG instead of PG-13 rating).
* The sudden far-too-short "picket fence" ending rather than the long-term, emotional, challenging-in-every-way recovery that was part of this process. Again the "cheap voice over exit" did the movie great disservice. I'd have liked to see another half hour added to it with a proper ending helping people to understand the entire thing, not just the hospital stay.
These issues are why I rate this 7 stars instead of 10. Nevertheless, what we see of the story was superbly done and deserves a nod of approval in making the public aware of some issues involved with mental illness-- not the least of which is medical incompetence and not caring enough about the patient to think outside the "standard diagnosis" box (something that I've seen over and over).
The acting was superb-- especially that of the main actress Chloe Moretz, who presented all issues from initial "blanking" to grand-mal seizures with astonishing realism.
The doctors were convincing. None of them were mean or had ill-intent; they were just incompetent and took a lot for granted. (Yes, I've significant observational experience with such medical staff. There's no end to the "we find nothing wrong" excuse rather than caring enough to find out what's wrong.) The frustration of the parents-- while seeming over the top-- quite realistic after going through so much garbage diagnosis they just couldn't take it any more. Not all people are like this... but such frustration is realistic.
In short, with the exceptions stated above this was a very well-written, well-directed and superbly-acted movie. If anyone wants to understand what people go through in a "brain fire" situation... this movie is about as good a presentation as I could imagine.