Rating: - Good Flick
This movie was great. Cheadle gives a good performance, and Zooey adds a nice touch, but the star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, makes this movie great with his dedication to acting, and his stellar portrayal of a boy lost in his anger. I recommend, especially for and JGL fans
Rating: - Gordon-Levitt and Cheadle tag-team, but still can't save this.
Manic (Jordan Melamed, 2001)
As fond as I am of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he couldn't save Jordan Melamed's first (and to date only) feature, Manic. I'm not sure anyone could have, save an editor with a much lighter touch than the one recruited to cut this film.
The story centers on Lyle (Gordon-Levitt), a teen who gets sent to a hospital's psycho ward after a violent episode during which he severely beat a fellow teen with a baseball bat. David Monroe (Don Cheadle), the doctor overseeing the ward, has a lot of patients with issues to work with, so once Lyle gets to the ward, the film shifts into ensemble mode. There's Chad (Michael Bacall, who also co-wrote the screenplay), an affable agoraphobic with whom Lyle quickly bonds; Kenny (Cody Lightning), Lyle's roommate, who's in for molestation; Sara (Sara Rivas), the goth with anger issues; Tracy (Zoeey Deschanel), the introvert working on her ... Read More
Rating: - Realistic and never sensational
Manic follows juvenile psychiatric patient Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to Los Angeles's Northward Mental Institution, where he is admitted after beating another student with a baseball bat during a fight. In a hauntingly realistic portrayal of mental turmoil, the movie follows the painstakingly slow (or non-existent) progress for Lyle, suicidal Tracy (Zooey Deschanel), self-injuring goth rocker Sara (Sara Rivas), bipolar rich kid Chad (Michael Bacall), and sexually abused Kenny (Cody Lightning). Don Cheadle portrays staff therapist Dr. Dave, a man who struggles against his own feelings of futility and ineffectiveness. The teens have angst, their families are near the breaking point, and those charged with fixing the out-of-control teens lack all the answers.
Director Jordan Melamed shot the film on hand-held digital video in an actual mental hospital, strongly adhering to the essential intentions of ... Read More
Rating: - Captivating
I have owned this movie on VHS for some time now and intend on buying the DVD (I'll have a back up). I have watched it over and over and find it just as gripping and real as I did the first time.
I consider this my favorite movie of all time because (for once) I can actually relate to the characters on a very deep level. Its a very accurate depiction of what its like to fear yourself. To wish that you could rope in that dark side of your mind and control it, but sometimes you can't. That deep need and desire for an outlet for all the strife and pain and anger and hurt and sadness.
This is a very real movie. I love the way it is filmed. I love the way it is written. I love the way it holds me, fixated on the screen, until the very end. See what you think.
Digital
Life Shop
Jordan Melamed items subject to availability. Some restrictions
may apply. VHS
Manic (Slip) presented by digi2005.com Digi2005.com is
an Amazon.com
Associate
Digital Life Music News:
SanDisk, record labels announce new music format - CNET News
Backed by four major music labels, SanDisk on Monday announced a new physical music format dubbed " SlotMusic " that's essentially an entire album on a MicroSD compact memory card. Wal-Mart and Best Buy are among the retailers that have already ...
more News
- Gordon-Levitt and Cheadle tag-team, but still can't save this.
- Captivating
