A US indie which borrows from the spirit of the best Dogme films.
Comment
10/26/02
Manic (2003)
69
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:58
Fresh:40
Rotten:18
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: A well-acted drama about trouble teens.
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Jordan Melamed's directorial debut is a strikingly honest depiction of life in a juvenile mental ward. Following a disturbing and violent fight at school, Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is... [More]
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall
Director: Jordan Melamed
Reviews for Manic
Top CriticClick to read the article
12/30/06
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02/09/06
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09/19/02
The texture of "Manic" feels honest and the chemistry of the kids is well observed, but even the modest breakthroughs are dramatic conventions that favor the symbolic over the genuine.
05/16/03
Searching for a documentary feel, the camera here is so shaky that you cling to the arms of your chair lest you pitch into the next row.
05/02/03
The film’s blurry camerawork, jumpy editing, and oversaturated hues are annoying and distracting.
05/15/03
The movie works only to the extent you get involved with each kid's efforts or inability to adjust to the traumas of his past.
05/21/03
It's too painful and intimate to let you keep its subjects at a safe distance, as most mental illness films do. That, of course, is the point.
05/22/03
McMurphy lolls in his grave.
05/14/03
natural and perceptive work from a cast comprised of amateurs and professionals
05/31/03
The group-talk and anguished groping feel true, as does David's frustrations with the kids.
05/08/03
Top CriticDoesn't garner the sympathy you would expect (maybe because the troubled youth come across as more mouthy than troubled)...Extreme Dazed and Sedated
05/09/03
Made with sensitivity and obvious good intentions, Manic still feels like a lecture to be endured rather than enjoyed.
05/10/03
At the end of Manic I'd seen nothing really new, and the camera style made me work hard to see it at all.
05/23/03
Top CriticGordon-Levitt, Deschanel and Cody Lightning ... should be commended for matching acting veteran Cheadle's gravity in their roles.
01/10/02
I've rarely seen the hand-held, docudrama approach done with more intimacy or accuracy.
05/23/03
A stunningly potent story of troubled patients at a juvenile mental institution.
04/25/03
Top CriticNever clearly defines the machine that its malcontent characters ... rage against, or overcomes its deeply embedded psycho-ward-movie clichés.
05/08/03
The film doesn't really go anywhere, other than outside for endless games of basketball, and the group-therapy environment allows for far too many young-actor monologues.
04/24/03
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