I myself have chronic paranoid schizophrenia. I take modern medications and I am functional, fit and physically healthy, and am a full time student on scholarship. That being said, I will say that this film is the BEST and most ACCURATE DEPICTION of my illness I have ever seen in film. A Beautiful Mind is hogwash, if you do your research, or have schizophrenia, or both, you would know that. This illness is not imaginary roommates to drink on the roof of the library with. WTF no, not for the vast majority of us.
No, this movie depicts the way the medications (which I take- I am on a very strikingly similar medication plan as the male protagonist, Harry) work, the way we see the world, the way we behave, the way people see us, the habits we have, the things we feel and think, it just nails it. I was astounded to see how well they made this movie actually be believable. However, I might add that most people with schizophrenia are not as slim, I am actually a rather muscular weightlifter and have been ever since I was 17, but don't expect most people with my illness to be slim to the extent of the main characters. They looked like models...well, that's not unheard of at all, yet it is a little away from the mean.
I only have a gripe about how they didn't address how most modern medications are likely to cause weight gain? What does that tell you about how accurate this movie is? By the way, I am a psychology major in my senior year, researching stigma of mental illness, so I have some say in whether this is accurate. lol That aside, this movie is a love story which does not hold back. It is some heavy stuff. Be prepared to cry.
If you are thinking of whether to spend an hour and a half watching this, don't think about it, just do it. This is perhaps my favorite movie. I have watched it multiple times, I think three or four over the years since I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and it is just really damn good.
And if for some reason you are thinking of watching this as an educational experience about schizophrenia, lol, even if you are a professor, I don't care, you need to watch this, this is legit. The subtle behaviors, subtle mannerisms, ways they speak, things they think, things they do, everything is accurate. Just to not spoil the movie, the first minute shows Harry standing with his arms open in summer rain. This is accurate! We people with schizophrenia are in fact disinhibited to a degree. There, you may have not known that little factoid, now you do.
If you like romance movies, go ahead, but this is a very potent one. Be prepared. If you like dramas, this is one. If you just like good movies, this is one. I dunno, watch it.
