Finding a film that deals with mental illness in a positive way is no easy task. For every positive one there's one that glamorizes an illness or doesn't show respect and care to it. Craig Roberts new film ETERNAL BEAUTY tows that fine line that many films do by capturing a character dealing with mental illness and adding humor alongside it. I'm happy to say that Roberts is much more successful than most, painting an enchanting dark comedy with an extraordinary cast.
Sally Hawkins plays Jane, a woman struggling through everyday life while dealing with a mental illness. She experienced a very traumatic thing in the past: she was left at the altar, no Groom in sight. She called him from the church, begging for an answer. Was he not able to understand or deal with her? Did he fall in love with someone else? Was he just simply a terrible person? We don't ever get that answered and sadly, perhaps Jane doesn't either. Now, several years later, we meet modern day Jane, still deeply affected by that day. She is chided by her Psychiatrist when she answers that she's "fine." She's largely ignored by her family. But she carries on, seeing the world in a different way (she even secretly owns and drives a car, something we find out that she seemingly shouldn't be doing). As Jane journeys through the world, the colors around her seem to change and alter, along with her mood, her medications and her emotions. She struggles day to day with schizophrenia and has deals with her oddball family.
Not that Jane isn't odd as well. For Christmas, she shows up with gifts she's bought for herself and would like her family to give them to her. She hands them all a receipt of what they owe, and then opens each up, acting surprised and grateful each time. When she stops taking her pills, she begins to see spiders on the wall but finds that she may feel more alive without them. She also hears a telephone ringing often, and the person on the other end is always the man who left her at the altar. Back at the doctors waiting room, she meets Mike (David Thewlis), a musician who's impulsive and offbeat. He seems to be struggling to accept reality, but is drawn immediately to Jane and wants to take her out on a date, which he soon does. Sparks fly between them and they fall for each other, impulsively rushing into decisions.
Besides Mike, her family is mostly self-absorbed: her mother Vivian (Penelope Wilson) tends to make everything about her, including Jane being left at the alter (she proclaims, "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life!"). Her sister Nicola (Billie Piper) is a mean girl who doesn't want anything to do with Jane unless it helps her. Her father Dennis (Robert Pugh) lets everyone else solve all the problems while staying silent, leaving only Jane's other sister Alice (Alice Lowe) as the only truly compassionate one in the bunch. She sees through the bullshit her family throws up and knows that Jane needs love and compassion, which she happily gives.
Roberts delivers a wonderfully beautiful, tender and sensitive film that works because it loves the character of Jane so much. It's shot out of order and with a kaleidoscope eye, almost as if we are seeing it through Jane's multi-colored world view. Sally Hawkins gives a fierce and dominating performance as our struggling narrator. Her performance shows a true empathy and care for people like Jane and the sincerity rises the performance to the top. David Thewlis turns in a madcap turn as well, which again works because of the honesty and love he gives the character of Mike. The rest of the family shine in various scenes, helping and hurting Jane, sometimes in equal measure. It's a lot of heavy stuff for sure, but it's also a very darkly funny film with a wispy energy throughout. Jane's world is no easy journey, but it's lovely to join her on this road.
GRADE: A-
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Craig Roberts STARRING Sally Hawkins, David Thewlis, Billie Piper, Alice Lowe, Penelope Wilson, Robert Pugh Now available in Digital Cinemas