La détresse invisible

I originally watched this film in Health class while studying eating disorders and other self-image diseases and I thought that it would never be very good. But it is pretty good, especially for a Lifetime channel made-for-TV movie. It is about a young girl named Nancy who becomes anorexic to the point where she is running nearly all day and disposes of food given to her by her watchful mother by hiding it under her bed and even knocking out a hole in the wall to dump food into. This film was full of drama and showed the damage that anorexia nervosa can do not only to the person infected with it, but to the victim's family (Nancy almost died). This was good and I recommend it to anyone. But if you or anyone in your family has been anorexic you should stay away, as it is sure to bring back bad memories. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments.

When I first saw this movie, I myself was anorexic, so it definitely made an impression on me. Tracy Gold is a wonderful actress in general, but in this movie especially, really bringing to life the struggles that Nancy goes through. There are parts in the movie where I was close to tears, not just because it hit close to home, but because of the realism and the way the story was portrayed. Most Lifetime movies that I've seem are pretty good at sending out a positive message, and this one is no exception. I would definitely recommend this movie to my friends, to anyone wanting to see a realistic movie about eating disorders, and to anyone who is interested in this true story genre.

took a risk with this movie. Dealing with this issue is complex, and even posters here have critiqued her for "looking healthy". Since this is true to her own story, I feel this is a very important point; why is it still so acceptable that Kate Moss, for example, is the female ideal, and Delta Burke is not??? (rhetorical question) The Lifetime Movie is done very well, in that it may be slow at times, but shows Nancy's increasing alienation from her friends. Jill Clayburgh is quite believable as the mother, and William Devane seems very sensitive; blames himself, as the father.

Primarily, this is a good "message" movie, which I think is one of Lifetime's strong points; while you may not have a "masterpiece"; you have an excellent TV film that people watch; with the current system of healthcare in crisis; this may be the best psychotherapy most Americans can get for psychological issues. If you have a child struggling with these issues, or are curious, it is definitely worth watching. Another similar film I would highly recommend is "Hunger Point", with Barbara Hershey; a film that deals with similar issues in a sensitive way.

I found this film very powerful, particularly as it was based on a true story. Some of the other comments made about it were inaccurate and I felt the need to correct them. Someone said that Nancy wouldn't have eaten pizza hours before getting her teeth pulled; but Nancy's brother clearly said their mother had made the appointment - Nancy didn't know about it until after she got home from the prom. It didn't explain why wisdom teeth got pulled - did they have to explain every insignificant detail? Many people get them pulled because they are growing in wrong and painfully. Tracey Gold chose to play the role - no one forced her to. And her performance was convincing, probably more so because of her own anorexia. It showed one line dance during the prom - maybe it was something the students did as a fun change; like when Whigfield's Saturday Night came out and you couldn't go to any disco without it being played. A lot of people like to have a dance routine to follow, so a line dance makes sense. A lot of people, including parents, don't see the signs that someone they love has an eating disorder, especially if they believe the person to be happy. Also, this episode happened in the 70s when there wasn't nearly as much exposure about anorexia. i doubt the movie was made to 'help people out'; more likely someone saw the potential in it, or perhaps they were moved by the story and wanted to make their own version of it. I assume Nancy Walsh really was taken to court by her parents, as the film is based on a true story. This is not unbelievable; similar things have happened. Someone blamed the film for their weight gain - I seriously hope they were joking as this is the flimsiest excuse I've heard yet. 'Nancy is a very grating character who screams and throws fits' - has this person ever dealt with an anorexic person? Their eating disorder is the one thing that matters to them - wouldn't you have a hissy fit if everyone you knew was determined to take away the one thing that mattered to you? 'never truly explains why she has this disease' - the basic explanation was given: Nancy had been babied all her life, was emotionally dependent on her mother and couldn't face being separated from her family, not to mention the responsibility of being an adult. Eating disorders are complex; often there are no easy explanations. Of course everyone has different views on films, and not everyone likes the same ones. But maybe people should get their facts straight before shooting their mouth off.

When this movie came out I was severely anorexic and in college. I wanted so bad to have a family that cared about me enough to try to save my life. I remember how well I related to the sadness and the fears Nancy had. I have watched this movie several times over the years and it still brings back powerful emotions. I thought a lot about brave Nancy was at the end to go ahead and agree to the medical guardianship. I wanted so bad to have something like that happen for me so I had an excuse to be made to go to treatment because I knew I would never go on my own. It took almost 30 years of dealing with anorexia to finally get better. I hope the real Nancy Walsh is still doing well.