The Artist, the Outcast, and the Pain-in-the-Ass
Filmic Representations of Depression
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The Hours, directed by Stephen Daldry; based on the novel by Michael Cunningham
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It's Kind of a Funny Story, directed by Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden; based on a novel by Ned Vizzini
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The basic premise of this movie is that there's this kid,
Craig, who contemplates suicide. He ends up
admitting himself into the psychiatric hospital, where
he must stay for 5 days. During his time at the
hospital he meets some friends, works through some
problems with his life, talks to the therapist, and in the
end gets the girl - Noelle.
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And it is kind of a funny story - a slightly lighthearted
exploration of Craig's depression, complete with a
happy ending. Image source
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Cake, directed by Daniel Barnz
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Virginia Woolf circa 1923 in a town outside London, where she is writing Mrs. Dalloway.
And Clarissa Vaughan, who lives in New York in 2001 and is throwing a party for her former lover, Richard. She's the embodiment of Mrs. Dalloway.
Laura Brown, a Los Angeles housewife in 1951 who is reading Mrs. Dalloway.
The film is a little wild. It intertwines the stories of three women: Virginia, Laura, and Clarissa.
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The beginning scene is that of Virginia writing her suicide note to her husband, Leonard, and subsequently walking into the river with pockets filled with stones. Historically accurate, but still hard to watch.
The rest of the movie follows the three women in their states of depression. It is propelled by the question of suicide; i.e. "will she do it?"
Spoiler alert: Woolf does. Laura tries but decides not to. Clarissa does not - but she witnesses Richard's death as he jumps out the window of his high rise apartment.
Jennifer Aniston plays Claire, a woman with chronic pain from a car accident that killed her young son and led to her ensuing divorce from her husband.
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She is haunted by the ghost of Nina, a woman who she knew from support group who killed herself by jumping off a highway overpass.
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The film follows Claire through her daily routines, her battle with addiction to pain medication, and her efforts to understand Nina's suicide as she contemplates her own.
The Hours
Next in the line-up comes The Hours, a film which is less superficially entertaining than the whimsical It's Kind of a Funny Story, yet much higher in entertainment value than Cake.
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The Hours can best be summed up as a dramatization of depression. The reason I say that is, well...have a look at the trailer:
The trailer is weirdly action-movie-esque, which is a little questionable in itself just based on the fact that it's a movie about people who don't want to live anymore and who contemplate suicide.
As far as movies about depression go, this one isn't great, but it's not terrible, either. Like I said earlier, the whole drama is built around the question "Will she do it?" Which is problematic for (I hope) obvious reasons. For example, the movie opens with a scene of Virginia Woolf walking to the river, where she will put stones in her pockets and drown herself. The scene is striking and heartbreaking - mostly because Woolf did that in real life. As she walks toward the river, a voice over narrates her suicide note - also the actual suicide note Woolf wrote all those years ago.
As a whole, the movie is very dark -- the lighting, I mean. It adds to the drama and the mood of it all, certainly. Even on a sunny day, the images still find a way to look very dark and gloomy. Is this the black cloud of depression everybody speaks of?
We're to find out that the three women of the film - Virginia, Laura, and Clarissa, are inextricably linked (and not just through Mrs. Dalloway. The movie frames the women so that we're meant to see them as living very similar lives, going through very similar crises.
The movie ends likewise, with Woolf again walking into the river. The film creates a weird sort of suspense wherein I wanted Woolf to choose life, but I knew from the beginning that she wouldn't. Even though we know what Woolf will do, the dramatic foreshadowing throughout the movie creates this suspense I'm talking about. For example, in one scene Woolf's niece has a funeral for a dead bird, and Woolf lays down beside it.
All things considered, I guess the movie gets brownie points for its historical accuracy. I just really hate the idea of dramatizing Woolf's death. How would Woolf feel to know her suicide was being reenacted on the big screen?
Come to find out, Laura's little boy will grow up into Clarissa's Richard, adding the genetic element that is all too common to depression. While Laura gets herself a hotel room with the plan of committing suicide by taking a bunch of pills, she wakes up from a nightmare wherein she is drowning (another link between her and Woolf) and seems to all of the sudden change her mind. She decides instead to go back home to the life she hates; she decides to live for the people she loves, even though she doesn't want to. What is unsettling about the scene is that the movie portrays it as a wake-up call: Laura didn't really want to kill herself, according to the scene. One dream and she's changed her mind.
Again, this complicates the issue at hand. It seems completely legitimate for someone to want to kill herself but decide not to go through with it at the last minute. But the movie doesn't give us much indication that Laura wasn't spontaneous with the decision. We don't see much of Laura in the film, which makes it difficult to know how long she has been living with depression. True, she goes through the trouble of dropping a screaming Richard at the babysitter's house, but Richard's reaction alone makes me think that her leaving him there wasn't part of the plan.
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The reason this stuff matters is because the gap we're dealing with is at least partially informed by movie portrayals, and there aren't that many movies about depression to begin with. Which means the ones that do exist need to be cautious not to over-dramatize or make the gap any wider. It feels like the movie didn't give enough care to developing Laura's character, which means it misses an opportunity to develop our understanding of Laura's disease and her individual response to it. To be fair, I think the movie attempts to avoid the major pitfall of advertisements in which there is no character development whatsoever. Yet it relies upon the interrelatedness of characters to do this - we are meant to see the similarities between them which all contribute to one overarching idea of what a depressed person is dealing with. But the lack of individualization between them is just another way of accentuating the gap.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Depression Auto
Some patients who are really in the thick of it have a hard time finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning; other days might be a little better for no obvious reason, and the patient's exterior might for a moment resemble his former self. How do you create a movie character whose primary pain might be the absence of feeling, and whose illness bears no exterior signs? It's not that Craig doesn't look depressed enough - we're trying to get away from the one-size-fits-all model for what a depressed person looks like. Yet it would have been fruitful had the movie worked with the built-in complexities of depression a little more.
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My biggest problem with the film is that, while it does demonstrate how some adults don't often take teenage depression seriously, it does nothing to subvert this assumption.
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But the calm, helpful spirit of the film is also threaded with condescension; this is a movie made by grown-ups, who want to listen and help, to make sure that everybody has a good time and that nobody gets hurt. As I said: I approve! But missing is the sometimes awkward, occasionally self-conscious but unmistakably authentic energy that characterizes Mr. Vizzini's prose... -- New York Times
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So while it may seem trivializing to have a boy's suicidal urges take the kind of fortunate twists that in the space of a few days land him kisses from two pretty girls and the rediscovery of a forgotten talent, the impulse that lands young Craig in the hospital is not something to be scoffed at. -- TIME
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I'm going to be frank, just to save everyone some time: I kind of hated this movie.
But there are a few things I liked about it, so let's start there. For one, the movie does a good job of showing how adults, even medical professionals, often do not take teenage depression seriously. For example, Craig bikes himself to the hospital after he comes close to killing himself. He walks up to the receptionist, who is talking on the phone:
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Craig: I, uh...I want to kill myself.
Receptionist: Fill this out. [Still on the phone, without looking at Craig]
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The scene might be slightly over-dramatized, but it still serves the purpose of introducing a major issue: young people's depression is often chalked up to growing pains. Craig's own father, for example, didn't feel it necessary to see Craig in the hospital:
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The movie takes a lighthearted spin on a dark issue - it's a gutsy move, and not one that many people would feel comfortable making. However, I think it basically worked for the film. There are scenes where Craig and Noelle (his love interest) crack jokes together, where he plays ping pong with some of the other patients and sneaks out with Bobby to get ice cream and play basketball. While Craig's character himself is usually monotone and unsmiling with dark hair and eyes, scenes like these demonstrate that people with depression don't always look like they're depressed. After all, just because you have depression doesn't make you any less human.
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However, this also works in not-so-great ways. It complicates the issue because while depressives don't always look like stereotypical depressed people (see Noelle's facial scar, as though to mark her as "damaged"), people with depression often find it difficult to find joy in things they once found fun.
No, depression and suicidal thoughts are not things to be scoffed at: but the movie doesn't lead the audience to a position of not scoffing at them. Probably the main contributor to this issue is the way the movie ends: on the roof of the hospital, Craig asks Noelle to go see a concert with him. They kiss for the first time - Craig gets the girl.
It is both cheesy and predictable, and while the scene ends with the couple watching the sunset together, the implication is that everything is going to be okay.
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The final word of the film is a voice over by Craig:
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"Okay, I know what you're thinking: "What is this? Kid spends a few days in the hospital and all his problems are cured?" But I'm not. I know I'm not. I can tell this is just the beginning. I still need to face my homework, my school, my friends, my dad...But the difference between today and last Saturday is that for the first time in a while, I can look forward to the things I can do in my life."
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That voice over got me good, because Craig was right on the money - that's exactly what I was thinking. The only problem is that, while Craig says it's just the beginning, there's no proof that that's the case. The reason why Craig could tell what I was thinking is because the entire movie, right up until the end, has made it look like Craig is all better. For this reason, his convenient voice over at the end of the movie just doesn't persuade me. It feels more like the director's decision to tack a little bit of truth onto what is an all-too-convenient happy ending.
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And this is kind of a problem, because it deepens the core dynamic of the gap, which is that depression is a lot different than what non-depressives tend to think. A major myth that exists because of the gap is that depression as a disease can be easily cured: it's just not true. Many people who have lived with depression all their lives will point out that it never really goes away, but it can become manageable with enough time and treatment. I think this is what the movie was trying to get across at the end, but it didn't work out so well.
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Cake
And Aniston's weight gain for the movie did not go unnoticed: US Weekly, Daily Mail, Health, OK Magazine, The Gloss... You get the point.
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The major difference between Cake and the other two films is that Cake is primarily character-driven while the others rely heavily on plot. The most entertaining aspect of the movie is Claire's wittiness and sense of humor, not to mention the fact that she is clearly a pain in the ass to everyone in her life, which she does not care one bit about. The movie trailer to the right does a decent job capturing her personality.
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Throughout the film we see Claire, going through basic daily routines - waking up, trying to sleep, taking pills, attending physical therapy, etc. The main plot of the film has to do with Claire's obsession with Nina, a woman who recently committed suicide; predictably, achieving this obsession in the film has to do with repetition, especially Claire's repeated encounters with an imagined Nina. As a result, the film has less entertainment value than the other two, but is also more meaningful and gives us a detailed representation of Claire's individual experience with depression.
The movie is also visually compelling, particularly when it comes to Claire herself. Aniston has received numerous accolades for her role in the film, which are entirely deserved. It's no secret that those who experience depression often experience significant weight loss or weight gain (usually the latter). Given Aniston's role in other movies, such as Horrible Bosses and We're the Millers, wherein her character is oftentimes extremely sexualized, her transformation into Clair is all the more noteable. Aniston's representation of Claire includes oversized clothing in neutral tones (mainly grays and blacks) and a makeup-less face; Claire is both in pain and beautiful at the same time.
Aniston playing Claire in Cake
Aniston in Horrible Bosses
Aniston in We're the Millers
Additionally, Cake is the only one of the three movies that features a main character with depression who has a drug or alcohol addiction -- which is a little surprising, considering how common it is for people with conditions like depression and anxiety to have a substance addiction. For example, one scene in the movie features Claire in a Mexican pharmacy: she does not have a prescription for these medications, but in her desperation she will smuggle them across the Mexico-U.S. border inside a statue of the Virgin Mary:
As far as representations of depression go, Cake is a pretty good one. But it's far from perfect. Because Claire suffered from a traumatic car accident which killed her young son and gave her chronic pain, it's sometimes hard to tell whether Claire's behaviors are due to the physical pain or the internal pain. The obvious answer is that Claire's actions are a result of both, but the greater number of variables makes it so that distinguishing the symptoms of depression from the symptoms of chronic pain and grief is impossible. This makes things complicated. As Andrew Solomon wrote in his book The Noonday Demon, which we'll talk about on the next page, "Grief is depression in proportion to circumstance; depression is grief out of proportion to circumstance" (Page 16). Given Claire's recent life tragedy, it's fair to assume she is grieving, and that grief has compounded enough to land her in a state of depression. In other words, the circumstances seem to justify her depression, if depression is indeed what we can call it.
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I appreciate how the movie presents us with a great complexity that makes it difficult to distinguish between grief and depression (and I agree with Solomon that there is a distinction to be made). The movie is true to life: things aren't always cut and dry. But for our purpose of examining how the movie does or does not deal with the gap, I think it's fair to say that adding this type of complexity - the type that makes it hard to tell if it's depression at all - doesn't do much to reconcile the gap. It's like learning to ride a bike with training wheels: let's first learn the mechanics of the illness (which are complex in themselves), then we can introduce something new.
Along the same lines, Cake, like the other movies, portrays depression as something that occurs as a result of a major devastation in one's life.
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Richard had AIDS, Laura had the qualms of domesticity and latent homosexual desires, Craig had girl problems, plus the added pressures of his father wanting him to apply to the summer institute, and Claire has the car accident, which left her physically disabled and cost her her son and her marriage.
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It seems that the only depressed character who doesn't have an obvious reason for being depressed is Virginia Woolf from The Hours. Is it just coincidence that her character is based on the real Virginia Woolf?
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This isn't to say that depression does not result from traumatic or difficult life events -- it certainly can. But what needs to be more widely recognized and understood is that depression is an illness which, like Alzheimer's or arthritis, does not always have an external cause, and can sometimes exist just off the basis of a genetic predisposition.
Surprisingly, the movie ends on a note that I found honest to real life. As I was watching, I silently begged the film not to take a cheesy turn. Please, I thought, just no lame happy endings.
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While it ended on an upbeat note, I thought it avoided the happy ending trap pretty nicely. It ends on a note of acceptance, with Claire telling her physical therapist that she wants to get better, at long last:
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Predictable? Maybe a little. I guess there's a reason the 5 stages of grief is a thing. What I like about it is that Claire says yes to getting help, but there is no indication that she will achieve peace. People with depression can probably relate to that: asking for help is a huge deal, and even when you're being helped, there is often a nagging feeling that you're going nowhere at all.
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According to critical reviews of the movie, it's precisely this realism that turned people off:
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At the last minute, “Cake” becomes a film not about physical pain, but a different kind entirely, and one about which it doesn’t have all that much new to say. -- Variety
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There’s no doubt that Aniston deserves more roles like this one but, with luck, in less maudlin, more surprising movies. -- The Washington Post
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The movie hits so many familiar beats that it's impossible not to see what's next. It does what you'd expect at almost every turn, even with some hallucinations which, with one piercing exception, seem calculated to keep real hurt at bay. -- New York Times
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It seems like the consensus is that Cake is too predictable, doesn't really have anything new to say...
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I think these critics are missing the point. Their responses reveal the tendency of moviegoers to value surprise and entertainment more than realism. After all, it is the routine of the movie that makes it a relatively good representation of depression to begin with. No wonder there are so few movies about depression: judging by these reviews, the only way to go about it is to rely on plot (like how The Hours waits for suicide to happen) or to create an honest but unentertaining portrayal.
Is it the nature of depression to resist narrative altogether? Is an acclaimed movie that also depends on accuracy even possible?
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