First Hit: There are strong themes in this film and it came together very well.
Suicide: Many young people consider this option as the pressures of life begin to unfold in the teen years. Many teens deal with these pressures differently; however there are a significant number who think long and hard about this option of checking out of this life.
Craig (played by Keir Gilchrist) is having thoughts and dreams of killing himself. In his dreams he begins the practice of acting them out but always stops. One night his dream has him going all the way. He awakes and heads to the hospital where they check him into the adult ward for 5 days of observation. Right after he gets a glimpse of who else is in the ward, he decides he’s cured and wants out. However his parents and the lead doctor think the stay will do him good.
Here is where the film could have fallen apart. It could have been a mockery of a mental health ward with Craig having odd or unintelligent interactions with others in the ward, but the film doesn’t go in this direction.
The writers and director (together Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) head into the reality that each person in the ward is real with their own version of struggling with life and through this one can learn about themselves and others. One of the patients, Bobby (played by Zach Galifianakis), is a father who wants to get into a halfway house and spend time with his daughter but feels safe in the ward.
Muqtada (played by Bernard White) just stays in bed and sees no point in ever getting out of bed again. Then there is Noelle (played Emma Roberts) who is nearly the only other person in the ward that is his age. She’s there because she is a cutter and there is fear that there will be one cut too many.
As the film unfolds Craig learns about himself and others and a slowly begins to understand he can work with the pressure of life and knows he has change the things in his life that allow him to embrace it. Through his interaction with Noelle, Muqtada, Bobby and Dr. Minerva (played by Viola Davis) he finds his way and realizes it won’t always be easy but he can choose to make it work.
Gilchrist showed a great range in the part because it required him to have different sequences (like the one in which he sings “Pressure”) showing different aspects of who he could be and who he is already. Galifianakis was strong as a mentor and friend to Craig while also showing vulnerability and disappointment of his own life. Roberts was absolutely wonderful in her character. Davis was excellent as the ward psychologist. Boden and Fleck co-wrote and co-directed this film and it is their smart writing, well-crafted scenes and well executed storyline that made this film work.
Overall: This film may not get a lot of play, but it is a wonderfully crafted film in which the participants can be proud of.