Phin
There seem to be a lot of films about Mental Illness coming out lately, which I think is a good thing. It certainly seems to be encouraging more people to accept that they, or someone they love, have/has a mental health problem. For years it seemed like, if that was the case, then the problem was just swept under the rug and ignored, except when absolutely necessary: something I’ve always felt is blatantly wrong. So, I’m always intrigued when a film comes out that covers the issue of mental health.
Nevertheless, this film has me on the fence.
The plotline is based on two brothers Phin and Sam. The older of the two (Phin) apparently suffers from an unnamed, mental illness, caused by brain damage. As a result, he has only vague recollections of who he really is, or once was, instead using his environment and clues therein to construct different versions of himself – much like that patient in HOUSE who had Anterograde amnesia. This leads to an amusing assortment of personas throughout the film, from the first to whom we’re introduced, a bank robber on the run from the law, to a rather staid couples counsellor, who, in my opinion, is the most amusing of these. Phin’s arrival, of course, happens at the most inopportune moment on the worst possible day it could – at least in Sam’s mind, the day on which he’s trying to secure a deal with an art gallery to sell his work. Sam’s fiancée, Jackie, the gallery curator, Carl, and his assistant (and Jackie’s friend) Susan, along with Sam, all get sucked into Phin’s delusional world, culminating in a visit from the police, and the breakdown of Sam’s relationship.
Though, as this short run-through would suggest, I do find the film mildly amusing, I actually struggle to pin it in with the genre of comedy, or even with drama. As expressed, I find Phin’s exploits entertaining, but it’s in more of a ‘soft chuckle’ or, ‘eye-rolling’ way, rather than the laugh-out-loud way I associate with straight comedy. Neither do I think any of what happens throughout the film particularly merits it to be categorized as drama: basically, I think, if anything, the film falls into the ‘black comedy’ genre.
(Although, saying that, parts of it put me in mind of SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, which was itself advertised as a drama comedy, so... what do I know. I would argue however that SLP is overall more dramatic and probably more comedic too.)
The acting throughout was superb, of course Eric Frentzel (who played Phin) had the most difficult job, it’s far too easy to over-act a character with mental problems, especially when they are given such an energetic personality as Phin, however I think Frentzel did a good job. Docile enough for it to be believable, but not so constrained that it’s not obvious that something’s wrong. The character who really caught my eye, however, was Carl (Robert Younis), the antagonist of the piece. Everyone loves a bad guy and though Carl isn’t your conventional ‘baddie’, there’s no denying he is a bad guy, well, sort of... Actually, I think Jackie sums him up best, when stating: “You’re an a******.”
There’s no denying, he is that, in fact when he finally accepts and understands the mental problems with which Phin, and by extension Sam, is faced, he stays around simply to ‘watch the show unfold’. Shamelessly watching in amusement and unfeigned fascination as Phin takes on – and pulls off surprisingly well – the role of couple counsellor to Sam and Jackie. In fact, the way in which he presses Phin with questions regarding his mental health - when he KNOWS that Phin’s not aware of the reality of the issues he faces - actually got me so irritated, that I would have quite liked to jump into the scene and slap him!
As I say, I'm on the fence with this film; though I would say it's worth a watch, I also have no real urge to see it again, neither do I think it's particularly dynamic, or a ‘laugh-a-minute’, or anything similar. But hey, that’s just my opinion, someone else would probably love it.
