La proie des ombres

Diana gives a wonderful performance in this very important work. Before I saw this, I hadn't thought much about mental illnesses - I found her portrait to be vivid and honest. This is a difficult subject matter, and I thank Diana for having the courage to do this disturbing work.

I remember when I first saw this and thought this is the piece that will re-energize Diana Ross' acting career. An argument can be made that it is her best acting performance ever! even better than "Lady". For the simple reason is that there was no singing, or music for that matter in this film. Diana had to draw on other things to pull this off. And pull it off she did.. Why she didn't receive major accolades for this role is perplexing. Also this made for t.v movie has been locked in a vault somewhere for the last decade. I can't recall ever seeing this replayed again on t.v. The subject matter is very serious and reaches millions of people. It was handle well and with integrity. And the lead performance was as strong as any seen on the small screen.. So why has this performance and film been socio overlooked over the years? Very disappointing...

I have been living with a paranoid schizophrenic son for most of almost thirty years. This diagnosis is considered the most serious of all mental illnesses and is devastating to the entire family. Why is it the most tragic of all illnesses? Because you don't die from it. Instead most of those suffering with it live in utter torment their entire lives. Most never leave the self-imposed confines of their darkened rooms.

Diana Ross's portrayal of one suffering with this disease was brilliant. She should have won some kind of award -- at least some kind of recognition for her role. She was brilliant and, if anything, understated in her performance. She only touched the surface of the tragic sufferings of this horrendous brain disease.

Kudos for Diana!

Having just retired from working in a forensic psychiatric facility, I can attest that the performance I saw last evening on the Lifetime Movie Network, Out Of Darkness, is about as real as it gets. Most patients are very much aware of their illness and very aware of their treatment and the drugs they take for this illness - Paranoid Schizophrenia. Their auditory and visual hallucinations are truly real to them and control their everyday life. Clozoril, which is the drug Paulie took to experience normality, is the miracle drug used in the battle against this mental condition when other drugs fail. Although very effective, it has many, many adverse side affects.

Diana Ross should definitely have been given an Emmy award, at the very least, for her portrayal of an individual stricken with this disease. She played a Paranoid-Schizo to a tee. I don't know how I missed seeing this movie all these years. A truly remarkable performance from an individual who is a multi-faceted entertainer. A singer/actress who has had to fight her own demons and I'm sure drew on those experiences to portray Paulie Cooper. Does anyone know if this movie was in part based on a true story?

I didn't realize I was watching Diana Ross when I saw this. She is very good.

The movie does an extraordinary job of conveying what psychosis is like. Been there, done that. What's even better is that it shows, in realistic ways, what it is like to cope with psychosis.

Too many films romanticize psychosis - madness is enticing if horrifying, a voyeuristic thrill for the presumably sane. In this film, it is humanized. Paulie struggles to "ride it out", to have a plan to cope, to cope, and to go beyond coping to living a full life, while managing her own condition. Tremendously empowering.

This film lacks syrup, and while it is dramatic it is not generally melodramatic. Paulie's work to trust others so that she can heal, to rebuild relationships with her family as she does, to face the real, irreparable changes that 18 years of poorly controlled schizophrenia have had on her child, her family & herself is so well portrayed that it merits a run-on sentence.

9 stars.