Brain on Fire (2017)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  5 / 10

  Brain On Fire feels like a missed opportunity for a medical revelatory drama. Biographical stories should be interesting, conveying an individual's intriguing life with perhaps some elements of fictionalisation. This drama felt almost entirely fictional due to the lack of characterisation and average execution. Although watchable and at times peaked my curiosity, its conclusion came burning down. A film depicting a life-changing month for Susannah Calahan who started to experience seemingly psychotic behaviour that puzzled both herself and professionals. Without divulging the cause of this erratic condition, there was an element of mystery to her behaviour. What caused it? Will she survive? All I desired was reassurance that it wasn't a demonic possession, as I would've thrown the TV remote across the room. This behavioural enigma fades in and out of focus with the inconsistent pacing of the narrative. One scene contained romantic intentions in an attempt to establish emotional investment, the next five minutes illustrated doctors repeatedly confessing "we don't know what it is, but we shall continue to perform more tests". Moretz gives a varyingly decent performance, with this role being one of her best. She exhumed competence and confidence although the schizophrenic-like condition was hardly subtle at all, with her being ridiculously happy as she shouts "I'm happy!" to then being sad by murmuring "I'm sad...". Mediocre execution which may have been better performed by a more experienced actor. Everything about the film is watchable, until the last five minutes. It then chooses to personally attack doctors for perhaps not finding the cause and dismissing her with psychiatric requirements. There are hundreds of uncommon conditions, it is highly improbable for a doctor to acknowledge each one, hence why a professional was called in. Absolutely no need to make this an attack. So aside from the distasteful conclusion and obvious acting, it's a fine biopic that should've been more interesting. Suffice to say, Perry was actually good in a film. Haven't said that since 'Gone Girl'!

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