Customer Reviews

Boy Interrupted

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading some of the other reviews I felt compelled to write my own. As I watched Boy Interrupted, I became very interested in the dynamics of the family and their family "Style" as The Perry home is not your typical household. The parents are artists and filmmakers and probably possess a very different dynamic than those people who are critical of the Perry's and the way they handled the very sad and tragic situation with their son Evan. To me the other storyline in this movie is about a family who is grieving in their own special way--through the making of this film. To some, this may seem narcissistic and insensitive to Evan's wishes, but I see it as completely in-sync with how they grieve.
At times, there are some questions left unanswered, and I believe that is the result of the subjectivity from the filmmakers telling their own story. I am completely fine with that, as this film cannot be anything other than subjective. If they waited to make this film two years from now, it would be a different movie, but still relevant and still subjective.
The Perry's have done a brave thing by telling their own story and opening themselves up to criticism.
Watch this film as not just a portrait of a boy with bi-polar disorder but also as a family in the process of grieving the best way they know how--through the telling of their story.

I thought the movie was very good. living with bipolar and a son who has it, it shows the confusion and the thoughts that are there o lot of the time. It is easy to say oh you should have done this or that but the impulses of the illness are strong and you don't really realize how sick you are. I have been told that i get a different look about me and as my son gets a look and his anger is so strong...but so is the love when he is loving life.. i have survived suicide attempts in the past but i do believe the illness will possibly kill me or my son one day. while I know it hurts family and friends My wish is that these people can see that finally their loved one is not in such confusing turmoil and emotional pain anymore. God bless all the people that deal with this illness or any mental illness and their loved ones.

In my humblest opinion, documentaries should be the type of "movies" to get all the attention and accolades simply because there's no "heavy machinery" involved and no acting, whatsoever (most of the times). They show life the way it is--unscripted and "un-rehearsed".
At least this gem of a "movie" doesn't have any of that, yet it still delivers. Like all documentaries, it presents the life of young Evan Scott Perry, who tragically committed suicide at the tender age of 15.
As a way of coming to terms with the past and present, Evan's mother, Dana Perry, puts together a film tracking Evan's short life and how his untimely departure came to have its effect on the ones he left behind.
An honest look at a beautiful life tragically cut short, this is definitely one of the most powerful documentaries I have ever seen, and it doesn't take a movie critic to say that!!!
Not only rent or watch this film, but buy it.

I happened upon this movie about a year after my son, age 10, died very suddenly from a reoccurrence of cancer. It doesn't matter what your child dies from, if they suffer a lengthy illness and then die it is heart breaking and forever damaging.

When I saw the videos of the parents, especially the mother, before and after his death you can see the sadness in her face. I thought to myself "I am a damaged mother, just like her." That does not mean that I haven't gone on with my life, but it changes in a way that cannot be described. You can't know unless you have experienced it.

I cried and cried after this movie, which is a good thing. It takes a lot of energy to bury feelings and continue your life, but somehow we must.

I read all of the reviews. Obviously, this movie inspires a lot of thought. One person remarked that Evan's family was to blame. But, I definitely think he was biologically ill. The evidence is when he stopped taking the Lithium, he quickly descended back to severe depression. Yes, the family is weird. I was uncomfortable even watching the scene in which the mother is holding Evan upside down as a baby - he doesn't seem to be enjoying it that much, she is holding him like a prop, it is decidedly un-nurturing and kind of.. artsy and self-indulgent looking. HOWEVER, she did not cause her child to be mentally ill and as someone pointed out, filmmaking is what these folks do. No family is going to look that great under a microscope with the luxury of twenty-twenty hindsight.

The psychiatrist is to blame for allowing the family to experiment with the meds, in my opinion.

As someone with quite a lot of experience with bipolar disorder, mental illness generally, and suicide in particular, I of course had to see this movie. It's about a really important subject, teenage suicide, and also about a mental disorder that is underdiagnosed--friends tease me that I claim that everyone is bi-polar.

Formerly known as "manic depressives", sufferers of bipolar disorder have "highs" and "lows". Way before this film identifies poor "Evan" as suffering from this disorder, it was obvious to me that's what he had. As a young child, he was highly creative, artistic, intensely loving and charming, yet sometimes just the opposite, with a blank affect and inappropriate and destructive thoughts and actions. Classic for a bipolar child. But the really alarming thing is that this kid expressed what the professionals call "suicidal ideation"--that is, he talked about killing himself and even how he would do it, and what is more, there were even attempts or "mock attempts" at suicide early in childhood. This is very unusual and it points up one of two or three serious flaws that I find in the film. I saw the film on HBO. If the DVD addresses these points in extra material, which it should, then you have to buy the DVD to get what should be in an appendix to the film.

If the DVD does not contain explanations of these or perhaps other points, then please see my comments below and consider them carefully. They have to do with detection, therapy, and prevention of suicide in bipolar patients. (No, I am not a psychiatrist, but I have family members and friends with bipolar disorder and I have experience with suicides of friends and clients where I have researched the issues, and as a lawyer I have represented families of suicide victims.)

I certainly do not want to be critical of the family here, only of the film-maker. There is no doubt that Evan was a wonderful child. You see it throughout this film. And he may not have had some of the "issues" that many bipolar kids have. It's clear from the remarks of his older half-brother that Evan's concerns, as expressed in a coldly analytical suicide note, were very mainstream. He worried that he was going to be a failure, that criticisms of him were true, that his friends were not really friends, and that kind of thing. As Nick says, every fifteen year old thinks about these things, just maybe not as intensely as Evan did, again leading to one of my points of criticism below.

1. To its credit, the film has extensive information, including interviews with the boy's psychiatrist after the suicide, where the doctor rightly observes that kids who are medicated for bipolar disorder may have their conditions change, and may or may not go off their medicine regimen, and the results are unpredictable and tricky. Looking back, these parents more or less acknowledge that Evan needed to go back on Lithium (probably the most effective drug and one that several friends and family members I know have done well with for years). But the film does not follow up with some succinct and non-controversial practical advice about detecting bipolar disorder. That would include, for example, intense emotional responses to ordinary stimuli, impulsive destructive behavior, obsessive sexual behavior, and most importantly, substance abuse. It's unclear whether Evan had substance abuse problems or any kind of sexual anxiety, but that doesn't matter. Part of the purpose of this film, such as it is, should be more than a celebration of Evan's life. It should try to help out. So I would have liked to have seen discussion of these important points about detecting bipolar disorder in kids.

2. Again, to its credit, the film suggests, though not strongly enough, that any child who expresses suicidal thoughts needs to be taken seriously. Yet the "therapy" that is more or less endorsed by this film is pretty much a substitute family therapy, where Evan was sent to a place where he learned self-reliance and responsibility, if you make a mess you need to clean it up and that kind of thing. How do we know that this is what helped him turn around? I missed a discussion of "family therapy", that is, direct discussion in the family, assisted by trained counselors, which I have found from experience to be very effective. And when you see the circumstances of Evan's suicide, it seems to me that this kind of therapy may have been needed. I was wondering if it was ever tried. (Note: most insurance companies will not pay for any kind of "talk therapy".)

3. "Spirit of the moment". Here again, I am not critical of Evan's family, though I have to say that in my experience handling legal cases involving suicides, this always comes up and I think the film-maker should have addressed it because it is obvious. Late in the film, in some of the most poignant moments, one of Evan's young friends remarks that he thinks that the suicide was just done "in the spirit of the moment", i.e. impulsively, despite the note where Evan outlined his thinking. This is a kid who has expressed suicidal ideation from early childhood and particularly in connection with a particular method of accomplishing suicide.

Suicides are often impulsive just as bipolar patients are. People who are suicidal should not have loaded guns around. See the film and you will know what I am talking about.

Again, my heart goes out to this family and I am very sorry for their loss, but I would have liked to see more about how to prevent other tragedies like this.

I watched this film with my students who plan to go into a variety of fields in the human services and education career track. There were a lot of tears, and lots of discussion. I feel like the parents gave us a gift in putting this film together - sharing all of the intimacy and raw emotion - and the gift should help others to understand a bit more of what the world is like for the Evans of this world, and their families. For my students, this will result in their understanding a bit more about the nature of suicidal impulses, and perhaps through learning about Evan, a life may be saved down the road. I particularly like that this was a film that did not dwell on blame or guilt or easy answers. There's always so much of that to go around. I thought it was open, honest, and thought provoking.

I lost a nephew to suicide when he was only 14 years old. When I saw this on HBO I knew it could reach many people affected by my nephew's death or those whose lives that have been changed by knowing someone who has committed suicide. Many of the comments and reflections in the documentary were similar to one's made surrounding his death. It gave me comfort in a sad and strange way.

When I saw this movie I was like now someone understands. I am the guardian of 3 children with mental health issues. People are so closed minded when it comes to mental health its crazy. I really think people feel if we don't talk about it, it will go away. The school system is the worse because they believe if the child is not hanging from the chandelier then they don't see anything wrong. More and more kids are going to mental health hospitals every day. If we don't deal with this as a country not only are these kids going to remain sick but they will grow up to be sick adults. Let's not keep it a secret anymore.

I would recommend this movie to anyone dealing with a child with mental health. Not so much for support because I believe no matter what people will continue to look the other way but to know you're not alone.

the Boy Interrupted was def the best Documentary out there. I actually become interested in this family. And actually called Dana Perry personally to tell her that i am sorry for her lost. this Documentary was and eye opener.