Helen (2009): A talented professor is forced to come to terms with her clinical depression. (6.1)
Director: Sandra Nettelbeck
Writer: Sandra Nettelbeck (screenplay)
Stars: Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic and Lauren Lee Smith
Ashley Judd is superb here in depicting a depressed woman. However, the writer-director has decided to keep the audience also in the dark about what's going on in the first half of the movie. Yes, the depression is the story here, but it is about a woman with a history, yet we are not told what's going on. This is the first movie where I actually went to google to find out what the story is after being frustrated for an hour and a half. You pick the best storytelling medium and then forget that there is a back-story to be told or answer "why" questions ... I'd say that's a major technical deficiency in this movie. Believe me, I know all too well about the subject matter. At one point towards the end the director decides to use voice-over for just one scene; uh, where was that technique to let us in on the happenings at earlier parts of the movie? Yes, keep the other characters of the movie frustrated, but not the audience. Brilliant effort with picking the subject matter, but as a movie (not a documentary, mind you) lost the audience ... My Rating: 6.0
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