• Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Juvenile Delinquency Film, Coming-of-Age
• Themes: Teachers and Students, Mental Illness, Faltering Friendships
• Director: Jordan Melamed
• Main Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Bacall, Zooey Deschanel, Cody Lightning, Elden Henson
• Release Year: 2001
• Country: US
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

This first feature for filmmaker Jordan Melamed uses the verite style of the Dogme 95 movement for a hard-hitting drama centering on a group of troubled teens. Taking place entirely in a psychiatric ward, the film opens with Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has chosen to accept calm in the wake of being treated for wounds due to a violent outburst from a fight that left another young man in horrible shape. Learning that he won't be taken home by his mother, he is transferred instead to a juvenile lockdown facility and deemed a menace to society. After being sedated during an episode, he wakes up to a room shared by Kenny (Cody Lightning), a 12-year old child molester. Lyle is put off by his new surroundings and refuses to befriend the other inmates or cooperate with the patient, weary Dr. Monroe (Don Cheadle). But Lyle soon begins to adapt to his new life, meeting Chad (Michael Bacall), a bipolar case with an impending release who lures Lyle into a plan for an escape. Lyle also finds solace in Tracy (Zooey Deschanel), a young girl plagued with nightmares and self-mutilation, who finds herself drawn to him as well. Manic also features Elden Henson, Sara Rivas, and Blayne Weaver in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Review

Scared Straight for gen-Y, Jordan Melamed's Dogma-esque digital video feature may suffer a bit from its trumped-up, would-be gritty technique, but the method proves fruitful, as the director is able to extract raw, revealing performances from a group of actors more accustomed to glossier roles. Manic centers on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Lyle, a reticent teen with a violent streak; it's the stuff of after-school specials, but Gordon-Levitt and Melamed smartly choose to reveal his transformation through facial expressions and physical behavior rather than through spell-it-out dialogue. In the supporting cast, Don Cheadle and the radiant Zooey Deschanel add warmth to the dour -- and at times contrived -- plot. Best of all, Melamed proves an ace at atmosphere, despite his restless camera: filling the soundtrack with both diagetic bad-kid hard rock and ambient Thurston Moore guitar noodling, he's able to retain his realistic stance as he evokes the pale-green desolation of a juvenile detention center. Though it received enthusiastic reviews at both the 2001 Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals, Manic struggled to find a distributor until 2002. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Lyle
• Michael Bacall - Chad
• Zooey Deschanel - Tracy
• Cody Lightning - Kenny
• Elden Henson - Mike

Don Cheadle - Dr. David Monroe; Lydell M. Cheshier - JC; William Richert - Diego

Credit

Michael Bacall - Screenwriter; Mali Finn - Casting; Carol Strober - Production Designer; Trudi Callon - Producer; Kirk Hassig - Producer; Madeleine Gavin - Editor; Peter Broderick - Executive Producer; Dahlia Foroutan - Costume Designer; Bryan Franklin - Sound Editor; Blayne Weaver - Screenwriter; Jordan Melamed - Director; Beth Multer - Script Supervisor

Similar Movies

Blackboard Jungle; Lean on Me; One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; Over the Edge; Scared Straight!; Tex; Go Ask Alice; Kids; Girl, Interrupted; Pigeonholed; Bully; Thirteen; Twist; Mean Creek; The United States of Leland; Lords of Dogtown; Wassup Rockers

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