Manic (film)
| Manic | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jordan Melamed |
| Produced by | Trudi Callon Kirk Hassig |
| Written by |
Michael Bacall Blayne Weaver |
| Starring |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Zooey Deschanel Michael Bacall and Don Cheadle |
| Music by | Michael Linnen David Wingo |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Hay |
| Edited by | Madeleine Gavin Gloria Rosa Vela |
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Production
company |
Next Wave Films
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| Distributed by | IFC Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
| Box office | $69,958 |
Manic is a 2001 American drama film directed by Jordan Melamed and written by Michael Bacall and Blayne Weaver. It was shown at several film festivals in 2001 and 2002, including the Sundance Film Festival. The region 1 DVD was released January 20, 2004. This is also the first time Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel have worked together as each other's main interest in a film, the second being (500) Days of Summer.
After brutally beating another teen with a baseball bat during a baseball game, Lyle Jensen, an impulsive and aggressive teen, is admitted to the juvenile psychiatric ward of a hospital along with other troubled teens: Tracy, Chad, Michael, Kenny, and Sara. Lyle is placed in a room with Kenny, a reticent 13-year-old, and form some semblance of a sibling relationship. Lyle has problems adjusting to the confinements of the institution and it is Dr. David Monroe's job to get them to talk in group therapy sessions.
Lyle finds himself attracted to Tracy. She is reluctant to become close to him due to her low self-esteem and fear of him. Tracy has constant terrible nightmares. Lyle becomes curious about why she screams at night and later finds out she is a victim of rape. In their room, Kenny and Lyle begin a discussion about their fathers, at which point Kenny announces that his stepfather is going to visit him. After a disastrous visit, it is revealed that the stepfather sexually molests him. Due to a confrontation between Dr. Monroe, Kenny, and his stepfather, Kenny is transferred to another unit of the institution.
A group meeting takes place in which the patients and Dr. Monroe discuss their worries about the situation with Kenny. Michael, a violent gangster, feels no empathy for Kenny and states that he received what he deserved. At this point, Lyle jumps up and attacks Michael, but the guards pull them apart. Dr. Monroe becomes upset at Lyle and begins throwing chairs around the room, demonstrating to Lyle that reacting out of anger accomplishes nothing. The two later have a conversation in which the doctor apologizes.
During his stay, Lyle had formed a friendship with Chad, who suffers from manic depressive disorder and agoraphobia. The two make plans to go to Amsterdam with the money from Chad's trust fund. Later, Chad and Sara have an argument over Van Gogh's painting "Wheat Field with Crows." Sara states that the painting represents freedom, while Chad states that the painting represents depression and confinement. Sara is soon released and departs from the psychiatric ward, leaving Tracy heartbroken. When it comes close to Chad's eighteenth birthday, he backs out of the plan to go to Amsterdam stating that running off to another place will not change his life, however, he encourages Lyle to go ahead without him. The day before his release, Chad cuts himself while reading The Myth of Sisyphus. When discovered, he attacks one of the guards and cuts the guard's neck causing him to be removed from the ward. During the scuffle between Chad and the guard, the guard drops his keys, which Lyle takes without notice. That night, Lyle uses the keys to get into Tracy's room. He apologizes and the two embrace and kiss.
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