Shows more hopelessness than optimism but is never less than honest.
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05/30/03
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Manic (2003)
73
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:16
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: A well-acted drama about trouble teens.
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: Jordan Melamed's directorial debut is a strikingly honest depiction of life in a juvenile mental ward. Following a disturbing and violent fight at school, Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is... [More]
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel, Michael Bacall
Director: Jordan Melamed
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Reviews for Manic
Top CriticIts modesty of aspiration and its naturalism of style are its two most salient values.
05/30/03
Top CriticA movie of heart and substance.
05/23/03
Top CriticManic has quite a bit to recommend it as well, not the least of which is the lack of Hollywood gloss mental patients.
05/23/03
Top CriticMelamed and his cast provide more than a few truth-divining moments.
05/23/03
Top CriticAt the end of Manic I'd seen nothing really new, and the camera style made me work hard to see it at all.
05/23/03
Top CriticYes, there are the usual lessons learned, but the movie also speaks the truth about kids who need to lash out but only end up harming each other and themselves.
05/22/03
Top CriticWhile it neither succeeds nor satisfies as drama, it's a great calling card for the actors involved, principally Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
05/22/03
Top CriticIt's too painful and intimate to let you keep its subjects at a safe distance, as most mental illness films do. That, of course, is the point.
05/22/03
Top CriticA riveting troubled teens story that has the unvarnished poignance of first-rank docus (e.g. Streetwise, Decline of Western Civilization III, etc.) on similar thematic turf.
05/14/03
Top CriticAbsorbing and occasionally disturbing film.
05/09/03
Top CriticThe group-talk and anguished groping feel true, as does David's frustrations with the kids.
05/08/03
Top CriticAll the performances are poignant, and, while the screenplay reaches no new conclusions, it allows the actors room to create and grow.
05/08/03
Top CriticI'm guessing the art photography is meant to signify a fragile state; instead, it suggests an attention disorder to which camcorder-wielding filmmakers are dismayingly susceptible.
05/07/03
Top CriticSearching for a documentary feel, the camera here is so shaky that you cling to the arms of your chair lest you pitch into the next row.
05/02/03
Top CriticIt begins to feel a little like one of those made-for-TV, issue-of-the-week melodramas Linda Blair used to star in.
05/01/03
Top Critic[A]n unrelenting and insightful look at some deeply disturbed young people and their dedicated but frustrated counselor.
04/28/03
Top CriticThe young cast throw themselves (quite literally) into their demanding assignments with vigor.
04/25/03
Top CriticThe camera work is so self-conscious and so intrusive that it consistently overrides our interest in the characters and their individual dramas.
04/25/03
Top CriticExcellent performances redeem Jordan Melamed's gritty teenage version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
04/25/03
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