Wow, if you think depression is actually that simple and easily treatable, no wonder you were not able to connect to the movie. I mean, if it's because of the acting or directing, it would be your opinion, but clearly you know very little about depression. I was diagnosed with a major depression in 2011 and was in such a state that I resigned myself to the fact that I needed to go the hospital. In fact, my parents drove me there and after two nights, I was given a choice and I chose to stay there, and eventually I decided to leave with the ok from my psychiatrist after a month and a half of treatment and medication in the hospital. I then went to see a psychologist every week for close to 3 years and let me tell you, it was not for nothing. I am still seeing a psychiatrist and probably will be for the next few years for sure, as I am still taking medication (anti-depressants and medication to sleep). Depression is definitely a very complex illness, as basically any mental illness is, and there is rarely only ONE cause to explain the onset of a depression. There seems to be a certain genetic predisposition (in my case, my uncle had depression and my cousin has a bipolar disorder, both of which are mood disorders).
Depression, in the full sense of the word (see the criterias in the DSM-IV) affects a LOT of people from basically all types of backgrounds, and they just don't get depressed for "no reason". It is a very serious condition and what you do not seem to understand is that among other elements, depression is a CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN YOUR BRAIN, and thus when you are really at that point, you just have no control over it. You can not just "snap out" of a real depression.
The Beaver might be a movie, but it is actually quite a good portrayal of a depressive person, at least for me and considering my personal experience with this illness.
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?
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rindercella
9 years ago
Exactly ma_marcil; just look at Robin Willims; he had every thing to live for, but his brain saw otherwise. Hope you get better ma_marcil.
"Meet me in Montauk." ~ Clem, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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ma_marcil
9 years ago
Thanks rindercella! And sorry for the late answer... I was lucky enough to be supported by great parents and friends, and I was very well treated by several psychiatrists and psychologists. Plus, I did not have to juggle too much with medication so I was able to sleep really better shortly after I got out of the hospital and then the anti-depressors really started to have a deeper positive impact on me as well.
It is indeed really sad for Robin Williams, one of many others who were overcome in the end by their mental illnesses. But of course, there is still a lot of people who DO really get better with the proper treatment and who do not even relapse afterwards.
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?
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al666940-3
9 years ago
You guys bring up Williams a lot.
Difference is, he WAS getting all the help anyone could think of.
Didn't make a difference in the end, but heck at least he tried.
Mel's character is depicted as being depressed "just because", and not doing anything at all about it.
That is what makes him so insufferable. Plus the movie can't decide whether it's a comedy or drama ("dramedy" according to Foster). Whomever wrote/directed this clearly missed the mark, big time.
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rindercella
9 years ago
Mel's character is depicted as being depressed "just because", and not doing anything at all about it.
In the beginning he was taking meds and said he had tried everything; it never specified what, but whatever it was didn't work. I think he had depression and something else as well. Or mayhaps the meds made him worse; I've heard horror stories about that.
"Please let me keep this memory, just this one." ~ Joel, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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al666940-3
9 years ago
Well again, maybe a different way of portraying it would have made this more palatable.
That sock fight definitely was a bad idea badly executed (unless you're Bruce Campbell and you're being directed by a master of horror-comedy like Sam Raimi, stay out of fighting your own limbs).
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ma_marcil
9 years ago
To each his own honestly. But for the record, a lot of people who do suffer from depression can not necessarily explain all the specific causes of their depression, even after their recovery. The fact that Gibson's character is not able to explain what is happening to him while he IS in the heart of his depression is for me totally believable. Heck, it sure took me a while to find out what drove me to depression WITH the help of therapy. I was barely able to express myself when I was in the heart of my depression, I can tell you that much, and I was volountarily isolating myself. But depression can affect people in a lot of different ways and people can react to the illness in numerous ways as well.
Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?
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rindercella
9 years ago
Heck, just hormones out of whack can cause your brain to think crazy thoughts. After I gave birth, I cried about squirrels in the trees, lol; everything made me so, so sad AND I was so paranoid that someone was trying watching my house that I didn't get the mail until it was dark outside.
I never saw a doctor and was better after my hormones straightened out. I could tell something was wrong with me. Postpartum depression is prob what it was. SO SCARY.
"Please let me keep this memory, just this one." ~ Joel, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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