Thin

It's an eye opening look into the in-patient care of women facing ED. I don't think the psychology tactics of the staff aged well, specifically when staff called 3 patients in together to tattle on each other and then called 2 of them back in together to give more details (felt more Mean Girls than professional help). It's easy for the viewer to connect emotionally with each of the women. By the end I was in tears for each one of them. I just wish ED docs shed light on why some people get ED. There's a wide range of reasons that extend beyond just wanting to be "thin".

One of the best documentaries of last year. If you know anyone who has an eating disorder, then this film will give you a clear insight into their behavior, and also into treatment facilities, and why they fail.

I am so against the behavior-based practices of facilities like the one depicted in this movie. They are so about rules and really do not get into the whys. You will leave this film at the end not having any more understanding of why someone would exist on 200 calories a day, than you did in the beginning.

It is no wonder that most go back to their behaviors when they leave. No one addressed the inner demons. It is all "Just Say NO," and we know how that works on the drug problem or keeping teens from having sex.

You can't help feeling sorry for these girls. You know they are destined to continue in their hell.

Thank you, Lauren Greenfield, for introducing us to them.

These days eating disorders (such as anorexia and bulimia) are, without question, a very serious problem that affects millions-upon-millions of men and women all across this continent and, yes, well-beyond.

"Thin" is an informative documentary that honestly tries to address the dilemma of eating disorders in order to help the viewer to better understand the seriousness of what is facing those who are afflicted by this problem of wanting to be super-slim.

(*Note*) - Due to its grave subject matter - "Thin" is far from being an uplifting viewing experience.

This movie is very truthful. I would recommend everyone to see it especially younger women and girls. Im overweight myself but do not feel the same way some of these girls do. It is amazing to see how obsessive they are and the lengths they will go to..... It made a very strong impression on me and my friends. It is weird how far these women and girls will go to just to see themselves as thin. My friends are skinny at 110 pounds but some of these women reach 30 pounds lighter than that. I think some parents have a lot to do with the problems. The movie shows that. People can influence you in a good way or a bad way. In this movie there are even cliques. Its like high school in a hospital.

This documentary follows a group of girls in a private hospital in Florida for treatment for anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders. The timing is only ever going to more relevant with coming time I think because weight is an increasing issue. I know the media does exaggerate for the sake of stories but we do either seem to be a society of obesity or undereating. Watching America's Next Top Model and shows of the ilk you regularly hear "too big" or worse from the judges in relation to girls who are very trim by modern standards. Meanwhile "size zero" is the thing of nightmares for those concerned about the women who feel forced to be thinner and thinner. All this against the background of the very public death of model Reston (40kg at age 21) from an infection after her system was weakened by the effects of anorexia.

So with all this in mind I was quite looking forward to this film because I hoped that it would be worthy of the subject – which is important and depressing. The film goes behind the scenes at a treatment centre in South Florida and follows the patients and doctors through counselling sessions, weighing, community sessions and just hanging out. The degree of access is impressive and the subjects don't seem to be affected at all by having a camera around them all the time. It is a shame then that the film doesn't deliver a point or a well constructed case but it doesn't really manage to do this. The "fly on the wall" approach does provide value as the lives of the girls do make for an engaging documentary but I couldn't help but feel that the film should be using the girls to access a bigger point rather than being about the dramas within the treatment centre alone.

This is best seen in the final third, which seems to be mostly about Polly and her friends being confronted by the staff over their behaviour and attitudes; this made it more of a soap opera than anything else and, although interesting, it was not what I had hoped the film would be. Greenfield's direction is very good, providing lots of intimate shots without ever getting in the way of the people or the treatment. She does turn out a film that is engaging and touching at turns but I didn't think that it did much to my understanding of the conditions. For viewers who dismiss it as "all in the head" and a western disease for fashion obsessed girls, there isn't much here to educate otherwise.

Overall then this is a weakness to the film because it doesn't deal with the subject but rather the specific people in the centre. This means it is not as good or as important as it should have been an, although it is of some interest, it is certainly not the film that I had hoped it would be.