Out of Darkness

Diana Ross truly reigns Supreme in this made for '94 TV movie about a 43 yr. old former doctor battling Paranoid Schizophrenia. This is one of those memorable "TV Movies" that is actually too good for TV. Gone are the typical TV movie clichés', obvious character developing scenes, and silly subplots. Portraying a paranoid schizophrenic convincingly when you are one of the most famous and glamorous entertainers on the planet must not be an easy task, but from the very first scene Miss Ross pulls it off. This is a heart breaking story of a former doctor who struggles with the illness for 20 years. After countless bouts with hospitals, mental institutions, shock therapy, and treatment centers a new experimental drug finally offers hope. The story examines how the disease really effects an entire family and the supporting cast is superb as well. Ross was nominated for and Emmy for her performance and won many others.

This film was very well presented, with good performances. It is sad, and does not distort or exaggerate as many other films have, regarding mental and/or emotional disorders.

Diana Ross is very good as Paulie, a once brilliant pre-med student, who can no longer function due to paranoid schizophrenia.

Rhonda Stubbins-White is also very good as the sister, who wishes everything would just "get back to normal". The actress who portrays Ross' mother is also very good. There is also a cameo with Lindsay Crouse, who attempts to help Paulie in a new day treatment program.

Some of the scenes are disturbing, and anyone who may have experienced situations like this in real life may find it close to the truth. Ross gives the audience an excellent portrayal of the disorder, living in her own world, and enduring many medications and hospitalizations.

Finally, she is given a new medication which actually works. The scenes are very well-done, as she is sitting outside the medical school, suddenly feeling like she wants to live life again.

What I particularly appreciated about the message in this film was that, Paulie recovers in her own time; at age 44, she must learn to re-live the rest of her life, even though she lost 18 years in the hospital, due to the illness. The film does not condescend or fault the patient, she is merely doing the best she can to cope with a destructive illness.

At the conclusion, we see Paulie as she is functioning, ready to finish school. On the way, she sees a homeless woman. She leaves her some food, reflecting on how alienated some people are, and how fortunate she was, to have received effective treatment. 9/10.

Diana Ross is gripping as a 42-year-old woman just finished with her third year of medical school who is sidelined by a particularly destructive bout of paranoid schizophrenia, a condition she's aware of and has lived with since her mid-20s. The delusions and voices come and go, but when a kindly doctor intervenes with a new drug, Ross has a chance to actually rebuild her life. A sensitive, educational TV-film that strives--and perhaps stresses a might too hard--to teach the viewer something about mental illness (as well as the shame family members feel about the disease, and their eventual acceptance of it). It's a heady acting vehicle for La Ross: she takes on this highly dramatic, unglamorous (and some may say well-trodden) role and gives it bitterness, rage, confusion and, finally, hope. The narrative is engineered to relay the overall goodness of our medical community (which may seem like a stretch to Ross' character, having been hospitalized over 40 times), while the writing is occasionally too flowery. Still, a disturbing and moving effort, with a gem of an ending.

Diana gives a wonderful performance in this very important work. Before I saw this, I hadn't thought much about mental illnesses - I found her portrait to be vivid and honest. This is a difficult subject matter, and I thank Diana for having the courage to do this disturbing work.

Having just retired from working in a forensic psychiatric facility, I can attest that the performance I saw last evening on the Lifetime Movie Network, Out Of Darkness, is about as real as it gets. Most patients are very much aware of their illness and very aware of their treatment and the drugs they take for this illness - Paranoid Schizophrenia. Their auditory and visual hallucinations are truly real to them and control their everyday life. Clozoril, which is the drug Paulie took to experience normality, is the miracle drug used in the battle against this mental condition when other drugs fail. Although very effective, it has many, many adverse side affects.

Diana Ross should definitely have been given an Emmy award, at the very least, for her portrayal of an individual stricken with this disease. She played a Paranoid-Schizo to a tee. I don't know how I missed seeing this movie all these years. A truly remarkable performance from an individual who is a multi-faceted entertainer. A singer/actress who has had to fight her own demons and I'm sure drew on those experiences to portray Paulie Cooper. Does anyone know if this movie was in part based on a true story?