Lost Transmissions

....then you will relate to this. Shown from the point of view of a woman watching her friend spiral down the cycle of schizophrenia. Juno Temple does an amazing job at showing her confusion at first, then the different stages of trying to get him the help he needs, and sometimes wanting to give up.

Simon Pegg really stands out in this movie, he captures the art of portraying the thoughts that inevitably lead a schizophrenic to going off their meds (anosognosia), the charm they display to make you think it's alright (they can be so damned convincing) and then the absolute random outbursts of hate, violence and/or rambling.

It isn't the most quickpaced movie, but it is a great story. It is hard to fit the entire dimensions of what a relationship with this particular mental illness is like into a movie, but it is definitely a glimpse. And they only touched on it a little, but it is enough to show that there are severe problems in the mental health department in the US. Anyone with a sense of empathy will take something away from this movie.

It is worth noting that the timeline of this can be hard to follow. And it might seem like he is 'suddenly crazy', where in actuality a fair amount of time has passed.

I am however, disappointed that they felt the need to put Alexandra Daddario so much in the forefront. Don't get me wrong, I like her and she did a good job. But her character was not that important. Certainly not enough to put her on the cover. And the confusion of their choice to push her as such a main character in advertising, was distracting.

Summary; A hard story to tell but it is done well by all actors involved. If you like that sort of thing, give it a watch!

Mostly real performances from Simon Pegg (acting as a scatter-brain with grand creativity). Juno Temple is the most realistic performer but slows the films pace to a crawl. Other actors range essentially play pirates.

If you're a happy, smart person in general you'd find it very hard to associate or connect with the film in any way.

This is a heartbreaking story about how schizophrenia destroys a man's life. I find the story very engaging, and very real. It is great to see Simon Pegg in a serious role, and he's convincing in it too.

This is such a complicated one. And I guess that is kind of the crux of this movie. It doesn't know what it supposed to be. It is not a movie movie about how the health care system fails mental patients. There are only two scenes about that otherwise it is never mentioned again. Is it not about mental illness either. We see mental illness but it is rather an attempt to show us what it looks like than dealing with it the rational of it. But I won't dare to call it a bad film because Juno Temple and Simon Pegg are absolutely out of this world great. Both in their performances and their chemistry with each other. Temple never ceases to amaze me anyway but I would say this is her best role and it is Peggs best as well. Watch it if you love amazing acting or love Temple and/or Pegg.

It begins well with Juno Temple playing an introverted creative who meets Simon Pegg, an extroverted producer. An interesting friendship begins and the audience is wondering if it will result in success, betrayal or failure. Nice.

She then quickly learns of his mental health problems and Pegg's character does a lightning-fast switcheroo into jumble of weak dialogue and fairly generic 'crazy talk'. This is not to say that people with mental health issues don't often share similar problems (hearing transmissions, grand conspiracy, etc.) but those problems seem to be indulged here for no particular reason. The rest of the movie languishes on his deterioration and we're not entirely sure why Juno's character is the one we're supposed to be following. It then dissolves into various critiques of health and public services, which Juno's character is often reduced to spectating.

The acting is fairly decent throughout, though Pegg feels miscast and struggles with some of the material. He's usually good at sincerity, but feels out of place here (and not in a thematic way).

Despite its agreeable message, it is a movie that lacks a strong story and treats its handful of characters far too gently.