One Eyed Girl

After the loss of one of his patients, a psychiatrist, Travis, collapses and loses his way. This movie handles a very difficult and delicate subject, often underestimated. How to help others when you are lost yourself? How to accept your own weaknesses when your role is to lead the way? How to face your patients' breakdown when it is a reflection of your own failure?

The photography feels intimate and authentic, far away from big budget Hollywood movies, which is somewhat refreshing. It is a stirring movie all round, juggling with suspense, confusion, misunderstanding and characters dualities. Get ready for a gripping and exciting ride and prepare yourself for redemption. Comedy lovers, pass your way! There are some tough scenes that stir up dark feelings at times.

If I have one minor grievance, it would be the ending. With all the effort and personal revelations Travis goes through along the story, I had imagined another path for his salvation. Also, the pace was somewhat slow at times, but probably necessary in order to give the movie such an uneasy ambiance.

The obvious theme behind this stylishly executed film is there in its tagline, 'what would you do for salvation?'. Or maybe, what could you do if in such a situation? Is it possible to make positive judgements when you are so depressed? Psychiatrist Travis (Mark Leanord Winter) isn't well. Living a city life with a city job, the world of his that we are introduced to is cold and emotionless, captured nicely with aerial views of the city. This is of course in contrast to his patients, who are filled with emotion. But Travis isn't well, and is barely listening to these patients. He wants to help them, but is unable to and in reality needs help himself. But being a psychiatrist, he can't talk to anyone about it, and starts the movie as an unlikeable person, someone who gets annoyed at people who offer him a pamphlet on a bus, a person who doesn't seem to care about his own patients.

Apart from the oft-ignored concept of 'debriefing', who are psychiatrist's psychiatrists? This is an interesting rumination as such a concept doesn't really exist, creating a main character who is immediately unlikable, but whose heart is good and transforms as the film progresses. His dwindling state of mental health is clearly the reason for his disinterest in his current patients, but it is made clear that this current state of health is due to the actions of a past patient. Unable to shake these memories from his head, he is essentially rendered useless and unable to do anything. Upon seeing the girl who tried to hand him a pamphlet earlier, this time he eagerly takes it. He attends one of their meetings, but nothing changes as memories of patients past continue to haunt him. Seeing no way out, he tries to take his life, but contacts the number on the pamphlet in a moment of panic. He wakes up in a rural community, and quickly learns what it is all about.

Travis is openly hostile when he first arrives, but his opinion begins to waver as the power of the community combined with his own desperation affects him. I have personally been in a very similar position and I must commend the filmmakers for the realistic depiction of these places and the people who reside there. The way the characters all honestly believe they are doing good, the emotionally heavy initiation scenarios… Some research has obviously been done to depict such circumstances with such reality, and crucially, with believable characters, as the farm's community offers up quite the spectrum. Standing out clearly is ex-Iraq War veteran Father Jay (Steve Le Marquand), whose persuasive demeanor and military past make him the perfect enigmatic leader of a cult. While at times fearsome and almost always sly, he can also be kind and empathetic. He is a distorted mirror image of Travis – a broken man who believes he is helping people, but in reality is hurting them.

Travis' entrance to the community and his exceptions to some of their actions brings forward characters like Grace (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and Tom (co-writer Craig Behenna) who each have their own moral line in the sand. These characters are in contrast to Jay's devoted disciples, who seem willing to do anything for him. To be saved. This contrast between characters, and what some of them will do for their beliefs, is what kick starts the third and thrilling act that falls down only in the execution of the final scene. This hardly ruins an amazing film though.

I find it hard to believe that there aren't any other Travis' in the world. What does a shrink do when they need help with their mental health? Talk to a colleague? This is a concept that is rarely explored in life, let alone in cinema. Congratulations must go to the team for writing about such a rarely touched on subject with such realism. Cults aren't such a rare subject for cinema, and most films exploring cults in a tasteful way will be probably be good by default. This film though takes it a step further with its deceitful, misguided characters and again its jagged realism that puts you in the farm as a viewer. The situation within the cult can be interpreted in different ways though. The pitfalls of co-dependent relationships, the power of suggestion, misguided attempts to help others, exploiting one's psychological pain for their own benefit are just a few ways of looking at it off the top of my head.

This a film that not only has a strong narrative, but one that can also say so much more, depending on the person watching it. I can't say that about many other films.

www.epilepticmoondancer.net

One Eyed Girl is not an easy film to watch. It is heavy, uncomfortable, and at times distressingly real in its portrayal of trauma and emotional manipulation. But it is also a film of great sensitivity, psychological depth, and moral complexity. It asks hard questions about mental health, belief systems, and the longing for redemption in a fractured world.

While it won't appeal to audiences looking for action or traditional horror, those interested in psychological character studies and understated cult dramas will find a lot to appreciate. It's a film that lingers long after the credits roll, not because of any shocking twist, but because it dares to sit in the quiet, painful spaces most stories avoid.

I swear I didn't dose off at in the first 45 minutes of this film, but it really seemed as though there were big gaping holes in the story. Really got tired of these tedious cult people forcing him to drink some gunk which he invariably upchucks. The story inched along, didn't pick up pace and left me feeling as though I was standing on a dark corner waiting for a ride at 3am. Would not recommend to anyone. Another of many Superchillin offerings that tout better than a 7.2 stars on IMDb, but when I actually come here, find it's a good 2 stars lower rated. 3 reviews are not a wide enough base to feasibly rate a film. The producer, director and main character could have logged on and given it rave reviews, but this was nothing close to the quality or content I would expect from a 7.2 star movie.

I have to agree with one of the other reviewers that there isn't much, if anything, to recommend this by-the-books cult drama.

We have a chemically-dependent, terminally depressed young shrink (played convincingly enough by Mark Leonard Winter) whose young patient's suicide drives him over the edge, leading him into a cult-like EST-ish back-to-nature group led by Father Jay (Steve le Marquand).

Father Jay's group is all about getting "clear" (sound familiar?) and uses various punishing physical and mental techniques to supposedly "heal the soul".

So... is there anything you've heard so far that leads you to believe this is unlike any other cult you've heard about before?

Nope, didn't think so. And there isn't. I guess this might be shocking material for those who've never heard of brainwashing or even Charlie Manson, but it's snooze-inducing for those of us who have.

It's a pity because this isn't a poorly made film. The acting is decent. It just revolves around a non-story that's ordinary and non-compelling, to be kind. It's only 103 minutes, but it feels like a century. What a complete waste of everyone's time, including ours.