This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

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.

Before I get to what I think about "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You", I have gotta point out something that really irritates me. In the IMDb summary, it talks about 'James as he works through his life at the therapy sessions'. These are NOT therapy sessions and as a trained psychotherapist, it irritates me when untrained folks do what they call 'therapy'. A life coach is NOT a therapist. Now I am not against life coaches--if you want one, fine. But in this movie a seriously depressed and suicidal young man goes to a life coach instead of seeking appropriate mental health treatment--and the life coach was WAY over her head and very unprofessional for ignoring this. Badly written and a bit irresponsible if you ask me.As for the movie itself, this film reminds me of a couple other Marcia Gay Harden films I've seen lately--wonderfully acted yet with a script that seems incomplete or at least in need of a re-write. Now this does NOT mean I didn't like the film--it was worth it overall--even with its flaws (such as an ill-defined plot and an ending that seemed ridiculously simplistic). The acting and characters were that good. In particular, Toby Regbo (who is credited very low in the cast even though he's CLEARLY the lead) did a great job with the part he was given. Interesting and involving but the parts don't exactly work together to form a pleasing whole. See the film and see what you think.

When it was over my wife said "slice of life". And indeed it is but a bit more. I found it better than the IMDb rating would indicate. It is about a 17-yr-old boy in NYC who is intelligent, has well-educated parents, and he is all set up to attend Brown after graduation. Or so his parents think. But he is very conflicted, he isn't sure he wants to go to college, has some idea that learning a trade might be better, like carpentry or leather working. His parents, who are divorced, are concerned and have him see a "life coach."The boy is played by British actor Toby Regbo who has such a good ear for accents he never gives his origin away, but doesn't sound like a New Yorker either. He is the character James Sveck . His mom is played by Marcia Gay Harden as Marjorie and his dad is played by Peter Gallagher as investor Paul Sveck. Lucy Liu is the Life Coach . And Ellen Burstyn is his grandmother Nanette . She lives in some sort of rural community and he enjoys visiting her, and sometimes it seems she is the only one he can connect with.So maybe the best way to summarize the story is James' "coming of age", realizing that his doubts and fears are normal, and that compared to most other he is in fact more normal than most.

This movie kind of reminds me of The Art of Getting By, but the main character was not as likable or accessible. Most of the time, I though he was annoying and affected. Many of the scenes rang false and the accompanying dialogue seemed to be written by a first-year psychologist student. However, the saving grace is the second-half of the film. Once the life-coach aspect comes into play, the movie improves dramatically. The main character's scenes with Lucy Lu felt real and not like the psycho-analysis that permeated the first-half of the movie. I really enjoyed the scenes in Washington and they really captured the claustrophobic feeling of the main character. Finally seeing what happened made the main character more sympathetic and less insufferable. Decent film

This movie was one of those that managed to get really really close to me, and sometimes it even touched me deep. But that may be just all because I feel personally so connected I can relate nearly identical to the main actor's character thoughts, doubts, emotions and soul, except for the two facts I am twice as old and, unlike him, know what love feels like. Damn, the are so many scenes, dialoge I would myself already have put into a book which I never wrote because im so lazy and forgetful - to watch the movie made me feel so good, and happy to see there are now and then some inspired and talented filmmakers and actors out there who can shine. Love this flick. 9 out of 10 my rating *********