Best movie of this year hands down!

Very best movie i ever watch

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I'm a fan if Sarah Silverman. I do see her boldness, and spirit of "going for it" in this performance. However, I am disappointed to say that the movie doesn't go anywhere, or do anything. There isn't really a "story" in the sense of a narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end - even an artsy, unconventional, or avant-garde beginning, middle, and end.This movie just lays there, static. It's really just a tiny snapshot of a sad and profoundly dysfunctional life, albeit an impactful and striking snapshot. While the dysfunction was portrayed accurately and with some skill, we need more.It's like showing us a photo of a close-up of some water, and saying "Behold - the mighty Mississippi!" One would need to show more to convey riverness. Or, to expand the corny analogy theme further (sorry), it's like a one-note waltz. That might be a GREAT note! But to be a waltz, you need three notes.

I came into watching 'I Smile Back' having recently come out of a relationship with a woman suffering from severe depression, both having younger children from previous relationships. I was aware of her depression right from the start and it wasn't an issue as it never manifested, up until the last 5-6 months that is. For the 85 minutes this film played, it was like I was watching my life played out by Josh Charles and my partners by Sarah Silverman. Almost perfectly Adam Salky's adaptation of Amy Koppelman's semi-biographical novel highlights and encapsulates the rigors and devastation depression can have on someone's life and the loved ones around them.As the film goes on and you are rooting for Silverman's character to get it together, get healthy, and be happy; the most common questions that keep reoccurring (as in my own experience) are how much is depression to blame for the erratic behavior, the self-destruction, the poor life choices, the hurting of others? Where does the depression end and the person begin? What should be forgiven and what cannot be? Coming from a position of clear bias and sympathy for the husband, I 100% related to being in that position that he is doing everything he can to help her, he clearly loves her and wants his family to be happy together. Often, love and good intentions are not enough in these scenarios, and decisions need to be made about whether to keep fighting in the hope things get better or to let it go so it doesn't destroy everyone. 'I Smile Back' really balances these questions so there's no clear right answers.I was a little wary initially of Sarah Silverman being in the title role. Even with her previous serious roles I still felt that in your face, over-the-top personality wanting to burst out. Not in this. She nails it, and really makes you feel every emotional high and low. Unlucky not to be recognized by the Academy this year.My only criticism is something which I rarely ever say about movies, is that I wish it was longer. I think the affect and anxiety that his mother's depression had on the eldest boy needed to be explored even more. We only get a very surface level of symptoms and afflictions of the child, and it would have been fascinating to get more on what affect it was having in his and his sister's life. I would have also liked a little more of a POV perspective of the husband and how he handled everything.Overall, a very realistic and relatable projection of a debilitating and devastating condition.

I am a 28 year old male, and this movie touched on a lot of issues I have struggled with in depression, mostly drugs and continuing to be destructive regardless of how much pain it causes. I teared up many times in the movie, Sarah was excellent. If you are looking for a happy movie, this is not it, and if you didn't care about the characters in the movie you obviously have little to no sympathy for people struggling with clinical depression. This was a very realistic observation of how one finds it extremely hard to see through life's struggles, and how some people are just never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I think it might be too easy to throw a bad review at this film; The unknown director, unknown author and lead role played by someone more recognizable for her comedic value than her ability to act - The story itself would be pressed to find an audience to relate with it and the somber tone leaves an impression of negativity that most people don't want in their lives.The film has been jokingly titled "White People Problems" by the internet for focusing on the oh-so-perfect suburbia world. A world without actual problems like having a roof over your head, feeding your children, education, jobs, transportation or many of the other realities just within the United States.Hollywood loves downward spiral films that punch holes in the fabricated perfection of suburban families. In following this cliché they ignore the issues of drug addiction & mental health issues in low-income families. What I call "the real world" of dealing with the same issues, but without the benefit of wealth. One topic in 'I Smile Back' concerned health care and there are powerful stories out there with real people not having the support of family or getting the help they need. In most cases for low-income families they either get misdiagnosed through several doctors or completely written off as drug seekers.Some wondered out-loud why Bruce would even marry such a full-blown narcissist as Laney. While others assumed that Laney "went crazy". Which is another misunderstanding about mental illness: People don't suddenly "go crazy" one day. Outside of environmental issues, there's a world of people born with severe illnesses that listen to their own family complain why they don't simply "get over it".Mental illness is not easy to understand, nor explain. I lived in the shoes of the character Bruce Brooks (Josh Charles) for 2 decades with my own Laney. I can't explain the behavior outside of an easy label. Love & acceptance is the best way to co-exist in such a relationship; Trying to rationalize the poor choices of a bipolar/manic-depressant personality can make you feel like your losing your mind. I noticed the poor communication between Laney & her husband, they were distant. Bruce sought to be oblivious to the bad things Laney did. I'd happen to guess Bruce was trying to maintain his own sense of normality and/or status among his peers by ignoring everything. You can see it in his face as he dropped Laney off at the rehab; He's the type that would see the problem and respond, "Why can't you just get over this?"A lot of the explanations for Laney Brooks can be found in the diagnosis of her son Eli, played wonderfully by Skylar Gaertner. Specifically those nervous ticks found in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder created in-part to make one feel in control of the world around them. I found myself gritting my teeth when Eli's teacher Mr Odesky (Clark Jackson) suggested medication for Eli's anxiety. It bothered me more that Laney seemed accepting of the idea.It was a painful film to watch for me. It made me angry at times, the plot devices frustrated me. I wished the film had Laney's father, Roger (Chris Sarandon) have more in common with Bruce Brooks than Laney Brooks. Not to make lite of the kind of garbage that abandons his own children, but to grant the self-absorbed Laney some form of wake up call.All in all 'I Smile Back' is a movie that was given a lot of heart. I can appreciate that. I can also appreciate Sarah Silverman's performance in playing Laney and the direction of her character was observably interesting. I found myself still calling her Sarah throughout the movie and wonder how effective this story would have been with some unknown actors. It's an okay film. Maybe something to watch if your studying or are interested in mental disorders. Personally, I don't think I could watch it again because it stirs up some painful memories.