Manic (2001)

Number Rolled: 40

Movie Name/Year: Manic (2001)

Genre: Drama

Length: 101 minutes

Rating: R

Director: Jordan Melamed

Writer: Michael Bacall, Blayne Weaver

Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Maggie Baird, Don Cheadle, Blayne Weaver, Lydell M. Cheshier, Roxie Fuller, Bree Nogueira, Elden Henson, Cody Lightning, Michael Bacall, Sara Rivas, Lauren Shubert, Zooey Deschanel, William Richert, Nic Henley, Michael O’Neil

Lyle Jensen is a troubled teen. At a baseball game things get out of hand and he nearly kills one of the other kids. As he’s being fixed up at the hospital, he learns that he won’t be going home. Instead, he is set to be admitted to the juvenile ward of a mental institution.

Nine out of ten times, if I know a movie is shot with shaky cam I won’t bother adding it to my list. I HATE that. Halfway through most movies trying to mimic the effect of a hand-held camera, I become nauseated and unwilling to sit through the rest. In “Manic,” however, I not only had no problem sitting through the shaky cam, but I thought it added something important to the story. It gave the movie a sense of intimacy, realism and intensity that a clear picture would not have.

I thought it was amazing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall; all the actors were incredible and very believable in their parts. I felt sympathy for characters I never thought I could feel it for and it was thanks to the absolutely incredible acting of the people behind them.

“Manic” changed my outlook on a lot of things. It changed my outlook on drama’s, on shaky cam, on Zooey Deschanel (whom I originally thought had the range of safety pin) and even on the subject matter itself. It was heart-wrenching and bitter-sweet and all too familiar. It’s set to expire today. With any luck, Netflix will get it back.

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 4.2/5

Overall Opinion – 5/5

Movie Trailer: