Customer Reviews

Revolution #9

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

 

 

I was one of the few people to see this film in theatres upon it's limited threatrical release, and i am glad to now be able to purchase the dvd. Basically, this is a hyper realistic thriller about a man who is beset by mental illness - or is he? I have never heard of Michael Risley before, but his performance here, the restaint and intensity, makes a lot of celebrity actors look like children. spalding gray is hilarious as usual. i highly recommend this beautifully photographed indie film to anyone who would like a dose of anti-hollywood filmmaking at it's finest.

It's heartbreaking to see actress Adrienne Shelley--who turns in an excellent performance--on screen here, knowing she was murdered earlier this year. As the fiancee of James Jackson--played uncommonly well by Michael Risley--she's lends solid support to a young man whose mind is rapidly disintegrating.

Suddenly beset by paranoid fantasies, Jackson starts accusing his co-workers of moving things around; then his pre-teen nephew of doing things he's nowhere near capable of doing; finally, his fiancee. He traces his mental collapse to a TV commercial and then finds the individual responsible for making the commercial--Spalding Gray, in a wry performance as a still photographer full of himself who was given the opportunity by a perfume company to shoot a TV spot for their flagship product, Revolution #9.

Spalding Gray himself committed suicide; it's really eerie that two of the lead cast members are no longer with us, specifically having lost their lives very recently.

The pacing of the film is perfect. Tim McCann, the director, knows how to not only get the best out of the actors he's working with, but also is expert at camera angles, capturing the most powerfully subtle nuances of expression and emotional import. His frequent use of close-ups works well here; it's often annoying to see close-ups in a film because it feels like the director is using them having run out of other ideas. But McCann is a strong filmmaker; he fuses his smart dialogue with exactly the right moves by the actors and the right shots, the right camerawork to make the film as powerful as it is.

The supporting cast is also strong--in particular, Callie Thorne, who perfectly captures the half narrow-minded mentality of a suburban wife. The ending of the film is supremely disturbing, as is the film overall, which is McCann's intent.

A superior piece of work; highly recommended.

One of the few films that addresses relationships in an intellegent manner, whereas the focus isn't "sex", but everything that makes up why people care about others, why they fall in love, and how hard it is too give up on someone when it starts to head south.
Great Film.

This is the story about two people who are forced to deal with the onset of mental illness. Jackson and his fiancee are planning their wedding. As this happy event nears, Jackson begins to show the signs of paranoid schizophrenia. First he believes his colleagues are out to get him-- moving things around on his desk, watching him, using him as a guinea pig (his words, not mine). Since he's in advertising, someone sends him a computer file of the new advertising campaign for a perfume, Revolution No. 9. Jackson believes there are messages in the commercial that are specifically targeting him.

From there, he gets worse. He loses his job, he can't keep his apartment clean, he looks worse for wear. Jackson tries to drag his fiancee into his delusions and begins to distrust her, as well. She tries to get him help, but it's very difficult to get help when the would-be patient cannot even understand he's ill. Some of the laws designed to help the mentally ill really wind up hurting them, instead.

This is an interesting movie with a horribly poor title. The title and the box-- and the way it's recommended on Amazon-- are a bit misleading. To me, this appears to be a little science fiction movie-- is the man going insane or is there truly a conspiracy against him. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is NOT what this movie is about-- despite the other reviewer's misleading question ". . .or is he?" This movie is strictly about what happens when two people who love eachother have to face the onset of incapacitating mental illness.

The resolution of the movie isn't very good-- not because it's not a "happy" ending, but because it ends abruptly at the climax with no denouement. Additionally, it would have been helpful to understand why the father didn't want anything to do with his son since we were under the impression that Jackson had no delusional episodes prior to this first one.

The cast was wonderful-- subtle and authentic. The brief scene with the patient "advocate" was sadly ironic and one wonders how some of these people can sleep at night.

All in all, a pretty good movie that would have benefited from a different title and different box art. Although you can't judge a book or film by the cover, the cover and title here may make one believe this is a low budget science fiction film (nothing wrong with this), but really, it's a serious indie film with a lot of heart.

this movie was amazing--breath taking--enough said.

I recommend reviewing the names of famous people who have suffered with this illness; they range from composers to poets and leaders like Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt. Ted Turner, a major media giant, has bipolar! These people are delusional? I don't think so. People who do these kinds of films need to do their homework! I do not recommend this film to anyone with any form of bipolar. This film can cause depression and self-destructive behavior.

This film promotes a false view of the illness. This film is about shock factor entertainment. It is Because of this kind of stigmatizing propaganda bipolars are not free to divulge they have the illness. They a labeled lazy, moody, loud, impulsive...and get fired from their jobs and alienated from friends because they have an illness/ a disease very similar to epilepsy...and often treated with the same anti-convulsants. Just because Bipolar is currently labeled a serious mental disorder doesn't mean that they are delusional. It means the illness is life threatening.

This is why most people with the illness are ashamed and keep it a secret. This film is an example of why an individual with professional training in clinical psychology should be consulted. The sick character in this film is more of a Paranoid schizophrenic. I believe this film promotes bigotry and harmful to anyone with bipolar. It is my opinion that this film was written by someone who is either vindictive toward someone who divulged that they were suffering from bipolar or they had a relationship with someone who claimed their illness was bipolar and it was actually something else.