recommended

Just perfect...

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

First of all, I love Ashley Judd and I will watch any movie she is in. She puts at least 100% into any role she plays.My review here is not about Ashley (I apologize, as I said, I love her). My review is about Lauren Lee Smith - an actress I don't see enough. She is absolutely wonderful. I first saw her in 9songs. A movie I watched because a patient recommended it for a reason I won't discuss. That female patient told me to watch as a man looking for beautiful nudity (not porn). So I watched it and I did see the beautiful nudity but, if you can skip though the god-awful music (not my generation), Lauren is so great you can see why I try to see all of Lauren's work. She is amazing. She obviously takes parts that need this type of actress. She brings real life action to the usual US-repressed/suppressed sexuality movies. Thankfully, that seems to be changing. I think we need more reality in our movies and TV. Most other countries are far ahead of the US, but we will get there eventually.

This movie is the best movie I've seen to show all the sides of depression. Most movies focus on the depressed person or the family affected, not both. I have bipolar disorder and this movie can give people a glimpse into what it feels like to experience the horrors of deep depression. Ashley Judd did an amazing job. Also, I was also able to see beyond myself into how it affected my loved ones to see me like that. I knew it was hard on them but in my state was never to see it from their point of view.I am very active in the mental health community. I teach about disorders, lead support groups, and advocate. I've heard many stories on top of my own experiences and been hospitalized several times. Ashley Judd hits this disorder right on. This is a long movie but it is needed to show the story. Nothing too dramatic or exciting happens so if you are not interested in this topic it could be boring. I however, found myself drawn in by the characters. I would put a warning on this movie. If you are in any state of depression it could be very disturbing to you and could send you over the edge. Don't watch it until you are fully stable. Thank you Sandra Nettlebeck for showing the true story of depression in a Hollywood that tries to glamorize it.

First Of All I Must Say Ashley Judd Is Superb, Playing As A Disturbed Woman. The Other Cast Is Doing A Good Job Either. This Movie Is Very Dark And Grim, And Dvid Darling's Music Really Suits The Atmosphere. The All Movie Really HAs The Look And Sound Of One Of Those European Dark Atmosphere ECM Records, So You Hardly Believe This Is American Movie, It Looks Like It Is One Of Those Heavy Scandinavian Movies, Whith American Actors. There Is A Lot Of Suspense In This Movie And Gllomy Atmospher. The Story Itself Might Not Be Suitable For Many People, Since It Deals With Subject Most People Don't Like to Face Or To Know About, But For Those Who Would Like To See, It Will definitely Hold Them Until The Last Moment. In Total Very Good Movie For Those Who Would Want To See It, And Know Ahead About What This Movie Is All About.

An underdeveloped story in a genre that needs careful crafting to make sure the tale is one of a character afflicted with a disease and not just a treatise on the disease itself. Unfortunately, in this overlong, skimpy story we get no real idea of who Ashley Judd's character is. How does she live when she's holed up in a (Hollywood-style "gritty") warehouse? Where does she get her money from? It's terribly convenient that she has a student with the same disease who, when it's convenient for her to leave, jumps off a rooftop so that Judd can return to her husband. Too many scenes of Judd crying in a fetal position, or just acting dumb (pouring milk on the floor) doesn't make for a good examination of the way a character we really know and understand can fall prey to this malady. Slow, boring and too reliant on electroshock as the answer with no examination of other aspects of the character's background. Also totally unbelievable for anybody familiar with this disease is the idea that her new husband and daughter would have no indication that Judd's character had been depressed before with husband number 1. Moreover she'd have definitely suffered from some indicative episode of depression before succumbing full bore to another attack. Again, the movie is too schematic a dramatic presentation.