While I
appreciated the discussion of mental illness and its connection to artistic
creativity within the narrative Touched
with Fire, at times the individual scenarios of the specific plot
overshadow the larger topic. Writer/director Paul Dalio based the film on his
own experiences, and while this brings honesty to the material, it often also
runs the risk of carrying romanticized bias of personal memory. In this case,
some distance from the content may have helped to create a stronger film.
Despite compellingly convincing performances from the lead actors, Dalio’s
narrative often feels aimless at best, and predictably melodramatic at its
worst.
Without
providing much back-story for the main characters, Touched with Fire sets up a meet cute between the two of them in a
psychiatric hospital. Carla (Katie Holmes) is a published poet who is
struggling to understand her bipolar condition when she unintentionally checks
herself into the hospital. Marco (Luke Kirby), who is also bipolar, is put in
the hospital when his erratic behavior gets him into trouble with the law. Also
a poet of sorts, Marco is naturally drawn to Carla’s creative nature, though it
is somewhat convenient that he uncovers her gift when he discovers her book of
poetry amongst the donated books in the hospital library. For that matter, the
hospital also carries a decent collection of work by other mentally ill
artists, either as poor attention to detail from the hospital staff or a
convenient filmmaking contrivance to set up thematic parallels.
These two poets
immediately strike up a friendship that leads to a romantic relationship,
carried out against the wishes of doctors and their family members, with good
reason. Soon after their interactions begin, each manages to inspire a manic
episode in each other, highs followed by a dangerous low. Marco becomes so
depressed that he is removed from the hospital, separating him from Carla in
the process. Perhaps this is similar to the actual measures taken by psychiatric
hospitals, but Touched with Fire
makes no effort to explain why. The focus of the film remains on the task of
creating empathy for the two lovers kept apart, rather than an understanding
for how their illness is treated.
This continues
with the discussion of medication, which I am certain must be specific to each
individual case. Instead of making the uniqueness of each case clear, Touched with Fire makes broad statements
about medication, manipulatively using the emotions of the narrative to make a
case for the same treatment of all struggling with bipolar disorder. Although I
am certain that medication has helped many who suffer, the broad statements of
this narrative often feel more like propaganda for the pharmaceutical industry
than the story of two individuals. Beyond this issue of drugs, I was at a loss
as to what other point the film was trying to make. Any time the direction of a
film’s screenplay is unclear, all that is left are the characters. Holmes and
Kirby give raw performances in the two leads, but even this is not enough to
save the film from the uncertain direction of the narrative.
The Blu-ray
release includes a Digital HD copy of the film. Although there is little need
for the high definition disc, the special features are far more plentiful than
expected. Among the extra is a thoughtful featurette with a conversation
between Dalio and psychiatrist, as well as a candid commentary track with the
filmmaker joined by producer Kristina Nikolova and a fairly generic making-of
featurette. There are also a handful of deleted scenes, a photo gallery, and
the theatrical trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 7/10
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