Depois a Louca Sou Eu

I was drawn to this title while browsing a streaming service because I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks myself, and I have to say these conditions are represented very accurately in this film. Unlike the main character I haven't become addicted to anti-anxiety medication but the film shows how easy it is for that to happen. Having said all that, the movie doesn't set out to be an instructional film or semi-documentary about anxiety, it's just a well made, well written film about a woman who suffers from this very common mental health condition. She's successful in her work, less so in her love-life perhaps, so you might say that while some folks are functioning alcoholics, she is a functioning anxiety-sufferer. Her misery at being unable to lead a normal life or find a partner who wants to stay with someone with her condition, and her many attempts to find a cure for this horrible condition are also very familiar. She runs the gamut of treatments, from different kinds of therapy and new-agey silliness to medical doctors, none of which ultimately help. Visually the film is very stylish, with sumptuously-decorated rooms and exotic exteriors, and together with the lead actress's high-octane performance this is a very entertaining but also serious look at how a middle-class creative/professional battles daily with her mental health.

No pun intended - and anxiety is not a funny thing at all. But you can make a movie that is dramatic and has some sense of humor to it too. And of course be sensual in certain moments.

The main actress is all the money as they say in Greece for example. She really is good and does the best with the script and the (quirky) character she has to portray. Not everyones cup of tea, but if you love what they serve here, you will have a good time. And a movie with a lot of heart too.

Feels a lot like what Billie Piper was going for in her recent 'Rare Beasts' - a comic, essentially expressionist portrait of a woman with severe anxiety - except that - Sorry, Billie - this one is actually watchable and funny. It's also relatable even if you don't share the protagonist's condition, and interestingly insightful, both about that condition and the prescription pill habit to which it leads.

Starts off mugging just a little too hard, feeling a bit like a Jeunet and Caro, but I'm glad I didn't let this put me off. Once it gets into its stride, It's pretty much pitch perfect, and lead actor Débora Falabella has both great charisma and great range.