On this day, I didn't want to laugh, be entertained, forget about the world. I didn't want to be distract, that wouldn't work out for me on a day that brought me some bad and sad news from beloved friends. Distraction was not an option. I just wanted to be in front of people and their realities in life.
Call me Crazy, a film in five parts directed by known actresses as Laura Dern, Ashley Judd, Bryce Dallas Howard, looked like a good choice, even if I had the strong feeling that it would be more a lecture about mental illness than I movie per se. And I was not wrong.
Stories as a way of illustrating a theme are not novelty. It is a tremendous waste of a story. Fiction can talk about the most sensitive subjects in a way that is far beyond what we find on just a lectured narrative. Not that movies like that shouldn't be presented. Every bit of awareness about taboo subjects are essential, and debates around mental illness are a matter of public interest, no doubt.
I just wanted to see less illustration here and more real life. Many aspects of mental illness are addressed, many sad boxes are checked. The characters and stories are perfect on paper, but in the screen they become a bit plain, and they shouldn't, ever. But I think it is inevitable in this kind of production, in which the main goal is discuss some specific aspects o a subject - there is other installment, dedicated to breast cancer (I can only imagine what I'll find in there). All very relevant subjects that must be discussed. I only wished there were more subtly and delicacy in here.
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| Call Me Crazy. Directed by Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Horward, Ashley Judd, Bonnie Hunt, Shirley Maguire. Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Sarah Hyland, Melissa Leo, Brittany Snow. Writers: Deirdre O'Connor, Jan Oxenberg, Howard J. Morris, Stephen Godchaux, Erin Cressida Wilson. USA, 2013, 85 min., Color (Netflix). |
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