I could never see much humor in this story of a man, Mark Furness, who suffers from OCD as well as Tourette's Syndrome. Laughing at a mental illnesses that deprives a man of his wife, his job, his home, and his self-esteem just does not seem on. I did laugh when Mark was exchanging barks with the dog, but little else struck me as funny.
Michael Sheen's performance as Mark is nothing short of amazing, but I don't know how accurate his portrayal of the illnesses is. For example, in the early scenes his wife seems surprised by the noises he is making; I have a hard time believing that this serious symptom came on so suddenly that it was a new behavior for him. Perhaps the anxiety of separation from his wife provoked an exaggeration of his symptoms? In any case, Sheen's performance was realistic enough to make me feel the agony of his plight. Shirley Henderson, as Charlotte, who is running a support group, is good as well. I found Charlotte's mental state to be ambiguous--she had some sort of hair pulling fixation and an obsession with odd numbers, but whatever her maladies, they did not keep her from running a small business and being able to appear normal.
The title is rather odd, giving little hint as to the content of the movie. I suspect many people who could appreciate this will write it off as a porn film and skip it.
This movie says a lot about how people like Mark are viewed by so-called normal people. By and large they just want them to go away. The people at Mark's architectural firm make little effort to accommodate his unusual behaviors and would rather be done with him. A value of this movie is that it might make you more understanding of odd behaviors when you encounter them in the future. But I can see where dealing with such a person as Mark on a daily basis would not be without its challenges.
Michael Sheen's performance as Mark is nothing short of amazing, but I don't know how accurate his portrayal of the illnesses is. For example, in the early scenes his wife seems surprised by the noises he is making; I have a hard time believing that this serious symptom came on so suddenly that it was a new behavior for him. Perhaps the anxiety of separation from his wife provoked an exaggeration of his symptoms? In any case, Sheen's performance was realistic enough to make me feel the agony of his plight. Shirley Henderson, as Charlotte, who is running a support group, is good as well. I found Charlotte's mental state to be ambiguous--she had some sort of hair pulling fixation and an obsession with odd numbers, but whatever her maladies, they did not keep her from running a small business and being able to appear normal.
The title is rather odd, giving little hint as to the content of the movie. I suspect many people who could appreciate this will write it off as a porn film and skip it.
This movie says a lot about how people like Mark are viewed by so-called normal people. By and large they just want them to go away. The people at Mark's architectural firm make little effort to accommodate his unusual behaviors and would rather be done with him. A value of this movie is that it might make you more understanding of odd behaviors when you encounter them in the future. But I can see where dealing with such a person as Mark on a daily basis would not be without its challenges.