Beautiful Dreamers

This was a complete disappointment. The acting isn't bad, but the production was just so bad that at times I felt I needed to stop it, but I sadly made it through and was able to finish it a bit embarrassed by the whole poor movie. It is o.k. if you are o.k. with cheesy moral plots and don't mind watching a movie that vastly misconstrues Whitman. If you want a cheesy fictional story go for it.

The positive stuff first: movie presented new information about poet Walt Whitman and his friendship with a Canadian doctor. His influence was tremendous and led to innovations of the treatment of the mentally ill. Rip Torn is really quite good as Whitman.

The negative:some of the acting is so over the top, especially those actors portraying the inmates at an asylum. The actress playing the daughter was a bit much too.

This is not a big budget Hollywood production and that shows. For example, there are two dinner scenes and both times all the people are eating is asparagus.

This movie treats the mentally ill as human beings, and presents a fictionalized but more-or-less historical encounter between the director of a mental institution in Canada and the very controversial Walt Whitman. If you dislike movies that ask you to think AND feel, you will not like this movie. But for anyone with any knowledge of how the mentally ill have been treated throughout history and who have actually known people who are mentally ill, this movie touches something that as human beings we all share. You do not have to be religious at all to recognize the fundamental truth of Matthew 36 - 40 (or at least 39 - 40). Have a look before you jump to any conclusion.

I found the one and only comment about this movie entirely uninformative and altogether too harsh, so I have decided to write my own. I first saw this movie when it came out and have caught it a few times more since then. First of all let me say that, overall, the things that this movie gets RIGHT are what make it worthwhile. It doesn't matter that it has some low budget quirks and other faults. It is worth watching. The idea of basing a movie on Walt Whitman's visit a restrictive, narrow-minded Anglo-Canadian community in Southern Ontario and bringing people to life is a brilliant mis-en-scene. The movie is about the kind of humanizing catalysis Whitman inspired in people. And in that sense it is exactly accurate. The acting - especially by Rip Torn (Whitman) and Colm Feore as the doctor - is very good. The scripting and dialogue are strong and pay proper attention to the mores and inflections of the time. Overall, what's not to like? Besides, name another film in which Whitman is brought so vividly to life?

The rating is only a 5 because it's a movie that could have used better acting and direction (or at least music!). However, for the achievements of Walt Whitman, it deserves a 10. A previous poster calls the movie cheesy, however, I think it's a simple case of not seeing the forest for the trees. The film makers were apparently more interested in getting the story out there than to have a Hollywood shiny feature film. And for this, I applaud them - the fact it is non-mainstream reflects the life of Whitman as well. This film is more documentary than for the sake of acting. To be fascinated with a story such as this, when you rarely hear of these types of stories that shape current day mental health, is the most important thing. I found it a highly enjoyable look at history.