Manic

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, & Don Cheadle

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Lyle Jensen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has a few issues with anger management. Most of the time, he's in complete control, but one day, during a baseball game, he loses it and almost kills someone. Lyle's not quite eighteen yet, so he's sent to a psychiatric hospital, where he learns that compared to others, his problems are nothing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the single most underrated and under appreciated actor in all of Hollywood. I've seen a lot of his films, some are great and some are awful, but the fact remains that he always gives a strong performance and makes even the worst movie that much better. Manic was a rare inside look at a youth psychiatric facility, but there wasn't much of a story behind it. Of course we meet Lyle and the other patients, finding out why they're there, but there really isn't a point to it. The quality of the film further decreases with the way it was filmed, as every scene features constant movement from numerous angles. Similar to these camcorder films, I honestly found it pretty distracting, not to mention nauseating. The best part of Manic though is clearly the performances. This was released in 2001, before any of the stars were household names, however after seeing the film, it's easy to see why they all became popular. Don Cheadle is another actor that doesn't get the recognition he deserves, playing the Doctor in Manic, he is the glue that brings everyone together. Even with JGL's performance, this film is a mess of nonsense without Don Cheadle. Manic is somewhat disturbing and filmed in a way that makes it hard to watch, but the performances are just about as good as it gets and make this film worth seeing.