Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
2014
87 Minutes
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
User Review
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I can't decide whether this movie is a messy masterpiece, or just plain messy. There are a lot of elements here that achieve excellence, such as Mark Ruffalo's performance and the definite shift in tone during his manic-depressive meltdowns, but there were a couple things that felt off about this movie. Infinitely Polar Bear is a drama taking place in 1978, about a married man (Mark Ruffalo) with Bipolar disorder who is challenged with the task of watching his daughters for 18 months while his wife (Zoe Saldana) finishes business school. It's a very sweet and honest telling of his story, and there's a lot to like. Ruffalo, like I said, is amazing in this performance, and he carries most of this film on his back. The sequences of his manic happiness are extremely enjoyable and encouraging in this bouncy movie. The first twenty minutes are recognizably chaotic- not only because of our main character, but because of the many cuts and scene changes. I will tell you, there is not a single scene in this movie I could really sink my teeth into, as it was more focused on cramming as many crazy stories as possible rather than delving into one really important one. Zoe Saldana is lovely as always, and her presence was scattered but memorable. There were a couple subplots that surfaced such as the controversy of the wife being the breadwinner that I thought they would delve into a little more, but didn't, which I wish they would've done considering how short this movie is. I usually don't call this out, because they are children, but with the two child actors in this scenario I wasn't convinced. It got better as the it went on, as did all the moving parts, but especially with the older girl Amelia, it was a little stale. Also, the conclusion of this movie didn't really do it for me. It wasn't redeeming. However, the costuming department did their jobs, as every single outfit is iconic and totally throwback. Overall, it's a mixed bag in this movie as some people may love it and others could feel underwhelmed. I was never bored, so I think a 7 is safe.0 member like this review.
