Helen

This movie is a masterpiece into the mind of depression, as being a person with many non severe depressions, I found this movie in-sighting. Too sadly the subject of depression is a taboo and does not get the proper spot on the screen. This is a one of a kind movie that deals with that bravely and straight forward. With no doubt this movie is depressing, but I think it might help people in need,because it shows that you are not alone, and that many people have been in this situation. I recommend you to google the name "Andrew Solomon" which the movie start with his quotation, he have many interesting on the subject. Lastley I think that this movie got a low score is due the fact that people are afraid to deal with this subject.

There are no heroes, no victims, no rescue teams, no spectacular recovery...and that's the beauty of this movie. Some might say that the film is too long or too dark with no switches or no sharp turns of events. This is one of those movies where you can learn from a lot. The most important knowledge coming from it is deconstructing a mith that 'love will concur all'. The other thing is all 'what not to do's' coming from distanced once who should be listened to the most. I have a strong believe that if you watch this movie carefully you will be well prepared if someone you love had to deal with such problem. Ashley Judd gave wonderful performance. Light, camera, action should be credited as the rest of the cast.

At first I didn't like this movie a whole lot. As other reviewers have already pointed out, it's merciless in its stereotypical portrayal of people: every character in the movie is a royal jerk except for the 2 depressed people, and it gives the impression that all doctors are cold-hearted sadists, all spouses are selfish psychos, and people in general are totally apathetic.

But hold on...

Then it suddenly dawned on me, duh, that's exactly how one views the world when one is in the throes of depression. I believe it wasn't the filmmakers' intent to make an objective film. I think they were out to show us a somewhat skewed perspective through the eyes of a depressed person. At that, it's very successful.

So yes, this is a depressing movie. It's dark. It's irritating. It makes you feel like the world is a sucky place. But if, for some bizarre reason, you want to know what it's like to be depressed, then this is the movie for you.

I can't say that I "enjoyed" it (I'm no masochist!) but I can say that it's very well made, with excellent acting, effective cinematography (good use of focus & blurring), and a fitting musical score. Just as "Peewee's Big Adventure" takes us into the mind of a manically happy person with its cartoon colours and bouncy pace, "Helen" shows us the opposite side of the coin with its darkness, bleached visuals and monotonous presentation. If you want to know what it's like to be bipolar, I suppose you could watch the 2 movies back to back.

Movies like this: "House of Sand and Fog" (or as I like to call it, "House of Sand and Why Don't We Just Slit Our Wrists and Save Ourselves the DVD Rental Fee") and "Leaving Las Vegas". All of these are excellent films. But wow, hide the sharp metal objects before viewing.

This is quite something.

Powerful, complete and unrelenting and I loved it. The movie covers all aspects of clinical depression, the sufferer, the partner, family and friends and work colleagues. Leaving no part of the experience untouched or considered, loneliness, loss, longing, desperation, hopelessness and so on.

Acting great, music great and the pacing is perfect. I have seen comments saying shorter would have been better but I disagree. The current length provides the time to wallow or sit in the pain being felt rather than skipping over it to make it more palatable.

The ending is almost irrelevant, it could have ended in a multitude of ways and really isn't important.

Its a tough film but also incredible.

Ashley Judd did a great job portraying Helen, as close to reality as one can get without a narrator adding dialogue to the movie about what Helen was feeling inside. Your brain is on over drive, that's why we sleep so much. We are mentally exhausted from all the thinking, hiding, smiling, pretending. Her episodes mimic depression and many other mental illnesses, General Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Bipolar 1 and 2, Psychosis, etc. You can read the other reviews for the plot of the movie. But I feel, as an adult woman with bipolar disorder for 40 years now, the film maker should be recognized for her effective methods to reflect back to audience the mood of Helen thru the lighting, the length of the film, the family unaware, the doctors being dismissive. Those things are all very real. That is the state of mental health in this country. We don't educate ourselves about it, so we don't learn coping skills. A lot of families deal with this every day. Helen goes to great lengths to hide her depression in it's early stages, adding anxiety on top of anxiety, which is called kindling. Kindling causes the brain to loose cognitive skills and can lead to psychosis, loss of reality. If you walked out of theatre because it was too hard to watch, imagine waking up every day and knowing this is your life, there is no cure. That's why we kill ourselves, it's not selfish, it's to get out of our pain. Yes the clichés are there, so to that I say if you find yourself suddenly in this predicament, go to an AA meeting, an Al Anon meeting, in order to educate and prepare yourself for this way of life, if it lands at your doorstep. Or don't get educated and walk away, freeing yourself from the darkness. The script for the doctors was not necessarily stereotyped. Most psychiatrist struggle to figure it out because every brain is different, every illness is different. It took 10 years and many traumatic trials to find the right cocktail for me. This movie should be shown the first year of college and then TALKED about with the students. Educate yourself, don't let us suffer in silence.