Manic,
directed by Jordan Melamed, depicts conditions in a mental
institution for teenagers. The director, screenwriters,
and actors interacted with teens in and out of mental institutions
to provide the maximum authenticity; the filming location
is an abandoned wing of Camarillo State Hospital. Although
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) played a role in
efforts to establish legal procedures to revaluate and
release harmless mental patients, Manic falls short in
raising consciousness for needed reforms in mental health.
Manic instead provides an in-depth look at troubled youth
who live together in Northwood Mental Institution, take
pills, and engage in group therapy sessions led by a staff
psychologist Dr. David Monroe (played by Don Cheadle).
Similar to Girl, Interrupted (1999), parents are responsible
for the self-esteem maladjustments of their children. Most
attention centers on Lyle Jensen (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt),
who one day retaliated for a boy's nasty words, which he
perceived to be humiliating, by hitting the boy with a
baseball bat; remorseless, he believed that the boy "deserved" to
be taught a lesson. While in the facility, Lyle lashes
out a few times at Michael (played by Eldon Henson), who
enjoys playing the role of a bully to provoke him, and
Lyle wins in a couple of battles. When Lyle enters the
facility as the newest patient, he is reluctant to divulge
why he is there or to show any compassion toward the others;
by the end of the film he is compassionate toward his roommate
Kenney (played by Cody Lightning) and toward Tracy (played
by Zooey Deschanel), a girl who cares very little about
her personal appearance. Kenney is very quiet and passive
throughout, clearly depressed about something, and there
is no clue why he is there until his stepfather, on visiting
day, tries to manhandle his stepson. Monroe then orders
his stepfather to leave, and Kenny is transferred to another
wing without explanation. Lyle's battle victory over Michael
prompts Chad (played by Michael Bacall) to become friendly.
Chad's guardian outside is a rich uncle, and he evidently
overdosed on drugs before entering the facility. On his
eighteenth birthday, which is celebrated in the film, Chad
is to come into a generous annuity, and evidently by law
he will be released because he is no longer a minor. However,
he is so terrified of the prospect of living on his own
that he uses a knife, first on himself and then on an orderly,
so he will doubtless end up at an adult mental health facility
for long-term care. However, Lyle obtains keys that fell
out of the orderly's pocket while Chad puts a knife to
his throat. After saying goodbye to his friends, Lyle exits
from the facility and goes to a bus stop. Soon, a bus stops
and then goes on without him. When the film ends, where
is he going? Back to the cuckoo nest? Despite the realism
in portraying troubled teens, Manic lacks context and certainly
gives little hope that a happier ending is possible for
any of those committed to mental institutions. The legal
basis for the incarceration of the children is not provided,
and there are no reviews of cases by a panel of experts
with a view to release. Although pills are provided, no
psychiatrist is present in the film, yet the proper dosage
of corrective medicines can only be determined by a psychiatrist,
who in turn will rely on information recorded by nurses
in charts as well as by personal observation. The visit
of Kenney's stepfather, as psychologist Monroe admits,
was a mistake; the latter gave the clearance for the visit.
The pressures on the psychologist, whom the film implies
is on his own without much help from a psychiatrist, are
skillfully portrayed in the film. The handling of Chad's
release, similarly, demonstrates that the mental health
care system has gaping holes, but Manic provides no clue
about who is responsible or what is to be done to fill
the gaps. Although recognizing one's demons must come before
managing them, Manic shows no progress, no educational
opportunities for the teenagers, and no occupational training.
By inference, the lack of programs can only be due to lack
of funding, which is turn is an indictment of the political
management of the mental health care system that the film
should have had the courage to make. MH
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