Review of Elizabeth Blue (2017) by Megan S — 27 Sep 2017

Listen to me: Elizabeth Blue is a film for all to see! It is an illuminating portrayal of what it is to live with severe mental illness, in particular schizophrenia. Director, Vincent Sabella captured the fundamental essence of what it is to live day-to-day not having an understanding of what is real and what is part of a having a psychotic episode. Actors, Anna Schaefer and Ryan Vincent eloquently represented the nuances of a diagnosis of schizophrenia in their characters, Elizabeth and Grant, respectively. They exposed the often troubling side of schizophrenia: that not all hallucinations, delusions, or other features of schizophrenia present a destructive and fearful experience for an individual. Rather, individuals create positive hallucinations to help them cope with the negative and damaging manifestations that arise, as well as the stressors of life.

Supporting actors, Kathleen Quinlan (Elizabeth's mother) and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Dr. Bowman) accentuate both the elusiveness and clarity of trying to help an individual who has a severe mental illness. One scene portrays an argument in which Elizabeth's mom tells her that her imaginary world and all her neuroses are what made Elizabeth's father leave the family. This illustrates a typical surface awareness of what a loved one may be going through, as well as the haziness of being able to make sense of what a daughter is going through, enough to be able to help her. Alas, her mother is unable to help - a defeat that can rock the soul of a parent. In my role as a therapist, I have seen clients and their family members at different levels of awareness about the nature of various mental illnesses. Awareness seems to be key in creating breakthroughs that can motivate clients to take care of themselves so that change can occur and greater mental health can be achieved. It also seems to be key for family members to help individuals with mental illness in handling various therapies and stress levels to prevent relapse. However, clients who suffer from the features of schizophrenia oftentimes have difficulty in stabilizing and managing their anxiety, which then can provoke psychotic episodes. Doubling the problem then is when families do not have the knowledge and resources to support their loved ones with mental illness. Elizabeth Blue shows the polarities that individuals with schizophrenia and their families face.

I read the critics' reviews before seeing this film, and was prepared to see a mediocre and overly dramatic narrative of mental illness. In fact reviews from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter should be taken with a grain of salt. Clearly, the writers of those reviews were not familiar with the subject matter of mental illness, and do not have an understanding of the often exaggerated and solitary thoughts and behaviors of an individual dealing with features of schizophrenia. To label certain aspects as cliché is to dissect a hallucination itself, all the while knowing that it isn't real - this is to say, that to critically evaluate this film, one needs a keen eye of what it is to deal with mental illness. And for those who are not familiar with the experience of mental illness, Elizabeth Blue is an eye-opening and emotional demonstration of that! You will be inspired!

Please go see this film, whether you are new to understanding psychological and mental health issues, or you are a client or mental health professional! It is eye-opening and will benefit all in the promotion of mental health and the de-stigmatization of mental illness.