Manic (2001)

Featured Audience Ratings

• paul o

  
  The acting is solid and strong from early Gorden-Levitt and Deschanel. Along with the cinematography being in cheap digital font, the feel is gritty and realistic. The story isn't deep but it'll have you hooked for the hour and a half.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall, Cody Lightning, Elden Henson, Sara Rivas, Maggie Baird, Blayne Weaver, Adrienne Rollo, Lydell M. Cheshier, Roxie Fuller, Bree Nogueira, Kathy Paradise, Lauren Shubert Director: Jordan Melamed Summary:… More
  Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall, Cody Lightning, Elden Henson, Sara Rivas, Maggie Baird, Blayne Weaver, Adrienne Rollo, Lydell M. Cheshier, Roxie Fuller, Bree Nogueira, Kathy Paradise, Lauren Shubert Director: Jordan Melamed Summary: Jordan Melamed's unsettling ensemble drama follows teenager Lyle Jensen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he's committed to the juvenile ward of a mental institution after brutally beating another boy. There, he encounters a pack of equally lost souls, including a girl who hurts herself (Zooey Deschanel), a 12-year-old child molester (Cody Lightning) and a bipolar teen planning an escape (Michael Bacall). My Thoughts: "Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing. Who knew the kid from a silly t.v. series could do such great work in films. He makes me wanna watch more of his films. He was great in Brick and thats what made me want to see more. He gives a heart wrenching performance as Lyle Jensen. His character Lyle finds himself in an mental institution after almost beating a kid to death with a bat at a baseball game. He has a lot of anger issues that seem to developed around the relationship he had with his father who was physically abusive. Alot of the characters are dealing with a lot of dark issues. It felt very real watching this movie. It kinda felt like a documentary. Its disturbing and gripping. Don Cheadle was great. He is also really good in The United States Of Leland. The only complaint I would really have about this film is the camera work. Seemed to be all over the place at times.. and it was a bit much with all the close up shots. But all in all a great movie worth seeing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is definetly turning out to be one of my favorite actors."

• Leigh R

  
  Very intense and dark. Gordon-Levitt really plays this heartbreaking role so well. The movie was played out well in a handheld camera style that adds to the intensity and realness of the film. Kudos to everyone in their roles.

• Conner R

  
  This spared no expense to give you a very surreal look into insanity. The shooting style of the film was perfect and made the story all the more life-like and it almost seemed like a home movie. The performances were great, the level of complexity that went into each character was… More
  This spared no expense to give you a very surreal look into insanity. The shooting style of the film was perfect and made the story all the more life-like and it almost seemed like a home movie. The performances were great, the level of complexity that went into each character was obvious. Everyone was a real person, not a stereotype. It reminded me a lot of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in some ways., I would say it captures the same level of hopelessness.

• Nani V

  
  I think this is the first time I saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt play a serious role after 3rd Rock from the Sun. I was a fan of the show then, but I was so impressed with his acting in this movie that I have since been a big fan of his. The movie itself is very deep and goes into the lives… More
  I think this is the first time I saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt play a serious role after 3rd Rock from the Sun. I was a fan of the show then, but I was so impressed with his acting in this movie that I have since been a big fan of his. The movie itself is very deep and goes into the lives of some teens who are living in a mental institution and trying to deal with their individual issues. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Lyle, a teen who has anger issues and was commited due to almost beating a kid to death with a baseball bat. Don Cheadle does a great job as well in it. It's a pretty dark movie and may not be for everyone.

• Drew S

  
  Manic is lent exceptional power by a group of talented performers, bringing life to a bunch of teenagers who you've probably seen around high school and ignored completely. In the wrong hands, many of these characters might have seemed like cliches, but the film gracefully allows… More
  Manic is lent exceptional power by a group of talented performers, bringing life to a bunch of teenagers who you've probably seen around high school and ignored completely. In the wrong hands, many of these characters might have seemed like cliches, but the film gracefully allows us to recognize that they are a group of mentally ill youths sliding themselves into socially accepted roles in an attempt to fit in. The subsequent frustration and rage when they fail is depicted in Manic for us to see, and each performer really gets at the person behind the stereotype, immensely sharpening the film's human touch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's ascension to dramatic power is obvious here; he gives a wild, diverse, sickeningly scary range of emotions. His moods don't swing, but undulate slowly. Impending breakdowns and outbursts are telegraphed perfectly by silence and non-reaction, much like the behavior of an intelligent young man who recognizes the power he has. Zooey Deschanel, who I've never liked, gives a sumptuous against-type performance as one of the most dead souls I've ever seen. Don Cheadle is not quite right, playing his role suspiciously green: if the doctor had been new to the facility, he would have fit perfectly, but Cheadle is meant to play a veteran at the home. His awkward, unnatural attempts at reaching out to the group don't seem to gel with his supposed experience. The rest of the cast, primarily unknowns, all fit perfectly in their roles, and had this film taken off at the box office they probably would have all rose to great careers. The film has two stumbling blocks. The first is a suspicious need to signpost where each of these childrens' mental disorders come from (my dad beat me, my mom was mean, etc.) For a film so trusting in its viewer's observational ability and general knowledge of human behavior, inference would have worked better than exposition. It wouldn't be a problem in an isolated case, but we get backstories for every single character, which makes Manic feel a little hesitant. The second problem is the camera work, difficult to no real effect. If you can stand it past half an hour it won't bother you anymore, but it's obtrusive and doesn't really do much concrete to highlight the aesthetic or the drama. If you're on a Joseph Gordon-Levitt kick after 500 Days of Summer, this is a definite must. If not particularly illuminating about teenage mental illness, it is most successful at creating a rich and realistic group of people. A sad, noble, human tale.

• Lady D

  
  Some great performance all around especially Don Cheadle and another of my favourites right now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The beauty of this film is that it's very realistically created, showing this condition in warts and all sort of way, the down side of which is that… More
  Some great performance all around especially Don Cheadle and another of my favourites right now, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The beauty of this film is that it's very realistically created, showing this condition in warts and all sort of way, the down side of which is that it's so realistic and due to the nature of such conditions, as a film it does come across a little dull and drawn out.

• Creep F

  
  Have you ever been so mad at one point where you just felt like hurting someone? I'm sure at one point in your life you have, I think it's quite normal for human beings to feel this way from time to time. This movie is about Lyle Jensen(played by one of my favorite actors,… More
  Have you ever been so mad at one point where you just felt like hurting someone? I'm sure at one point in your life you have, I think it's quite normal for human beings to feel this way from time to time. This movie is about Lyle Jensen(played by one of my favorite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who gets committed to a juvenile wing of a mental institution after he beats a kid with a baseball bat during a game. Apparently the victim would always pick on Lyle and would never leave him alone, of course not so much anymore after Lyle had beat him up with a baseball bat. Inside the juvenile center we meet another group of troubled and angry teens with similar problems as Lyle, and It just so happens that Lyle even meets a girl that he might actually be interested in. Kind of like "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" the troubled teens have round table discussions with a doctor named David Monroe. This doctor really connects with the kids, and it seems like he's the only person that they can talk to. There is unfortunately this one kid in the juvenile center that Lyle does not get along with. A kid named Michael, who loves hip-hop and lives to only respect his "homeboys", is giving Lyle a hard time. Lyle does make a few new friends though, one being Chad, a boy who likes smoking marijuana and listening to heavy rock music, and another boy named Kenny who's been sexually abused by a family member. Through the round table discussions we get a chance to understand these kids better and we can see that, although they caused pain on others, they too were victims as well. Manic is a very well made and emotional film. Great acting and great script. There were actually some parts in this movie that made me want to bring out a little rage within myself, especially the part when the doctor flips out on the kids or when the kids are head banging their angry out to heavy metal music. I really felt these characters to the bone and I could even relate to some. Everything in this film is shot documentary style and it's all hand held, which gives this movie an even more realistic feel to it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is absolutely amazing in this and his character actually becomes the hero figure of the movie, and we find ourselves strangely looking up to him. Great movie, I highly recommend this! <a href="http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/?action=view¤t=Manic.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm89/JDHallowEEn/Manic.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Greg A

  
  This film speaks to me in a most unsettling manner in that it is this movie is rage and depression incarnate with and without the feeling of loneliness and the helplessness that comes with depression. I love this movie, it's like rewinding to my worst high school days and asking… More
  This film speaks to me in a most unsettling manner in that it is this movie is rage and depression incarnate with and without the feeling of loneliness and the helplessness that comes with depression. I love this movie, it's like rewinding to my worst high school days and asking me if I want to fight for no reason at all, I love this movie.

• Mike T

  
  Rough, visceral indie drama featuring excellent performances and stylish direction.

• Marcus W

  
  A hand-held camera and a strong cast portray a mental hospital for troubled teenagers. The performances are fantastic and we're shown how the staff are affected also. A hard watch, but worth it.

• Sunil J

  
  Shaky camerawork was not enough to keep me from liking this move.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings