Em

This movie failed on many levels. Mostly, it was utterly humorless and it lacked any intelligence. The actress, Stef Willen, was strangely masculine and seemed more creepy than mentally ill. She was unlovable with her wacky hats and phony expressions,and it made no sense that he male lead would tolerate her. There was no exploration of mania other than she likes to sky dive or buy one way tickets. Absurd. The sex scenes were gratuitous and yucky. Why an aspiring actress would so degrade herself for this lousy film is sad. I hope never to see Stef Willen's bad acting and annoying face in any other film. This was a missed opportunity. A waste of time.

Em is a compelling and simple film. Subtle and beautiful, it unwraps the lives of two people struggling to come to peace with their emotions. Relating to anyone who has ever dealt with or encountered someone with a mental illness, Em is a movie that speaks to all generations.

Editing progresses the film quickly, relying on the viewer to fill in any gaps. Actors focus on relaying emotion rather than speaking lines and before you know it, you're hooked.

This movie achieves what every film should aspire to – it tells an intelligent and well planned story without any pretense. Told with the up most care, Tony Barbieri deserves great credit for creating a painfully honest film about what it means to love.

This film is a true work of art! Predominately told with visuals it is as if you are watching a series of paintings unfold. There is a poetic minimalism to this film which is rarely seen in contemporary American cinema.

"Em" is a subtle, honest and beautiful meditation on what it is like to love someone who is mentally ill. This is not your "look at my Oscar moment" type of mental illness but rather something that is deeply truthful. There is not one manipulative or false moment in this movie which is saying a lot given the subject matter. Everything about this film operates on a visual level and the acting is no exception. The two leads are unbelievable at using subtle facial expressions to convey pivotal character beats. These types of subtle performances can be easily overlooked but this is behavioral acting at its best! Almost immediately you can see the planning and artistry that went into this film. From each shot which is meticulously framed and lit to the color progression, right down to the effectively minimal score which is carefully placed. There is an incredible attention to detail in every aspect of this film. However, this is not a film for everyone as it assumes patience and sophistication on the part of the audience. Nothing is obvious or spelled out in fact we don't even know the two main characters names until about 20 minutes into the film.

From frame one this film sets its own rules and strictly follows them making "Em" a unique and cohesive work of art!

EM is a true movie about Bipolar. You see how the character of Amanda grows and you feel her strength. She is true what she is going through,"Amanda says some people get more pain than others" it imply s why suicide comes to play. Amanda, dominates in every scene she is in. All I could say at the last scene, she is so Brave. If you look at all the other characters they take a back seat to her. Amanda goes through her life a lot by being alone. Yet each character has learned from her presence. Bipolar has a stigma in the society today but many are extremely bright people. I find in many ways ignorance no matter how educated or successful and not want to learn of things that don't fit in their lives.

I LOVED Em! And that is an understatement. I thought the writing was phenomenal, the acting, the story were so raw and real. When the film came to a close, I didn't want to leave my seat. I just wanted to know more about Josh and Em. I felt attached to them, like a mother watching her child leave for college, I wanted to hold onto them. Maybe I'm sounding a bit overboard, but rarely do I rave about films like this. The story took an original look at a dysfunctional, yet so "normal," relationship between ordinary people. And then there's the cinematography- loved it, too. There were scenes told almost wholly in close ups, the rack focuses between two characters in a conversation, the natural shots of the setting... I could go on but you should see it yourself.