In the wake of his father's death, a twenty-something writer sees his dream of moving to Paris put in jeopardy when he's forced to temporarily take in his wildly unpredictable, mentally ill sister.... (Full plot summary below)
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In the wake of his father's death, a twenty-something writer sees his dream of moving to Paris put in jeopardy when he's forced to temporarily take in his wildly unpredictable, mentally ill sister.
Leave your thoughts about Broken Diamonds.
| The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweIn tactfully tackling some of the often-sensationalized issues surrounding schizophrenia, Sattler and screenwriter Steve Waverly craft a topical and emotionally accessible film that should easily connect with sympathetic viewers, particularly those familiar with the debilitating effects of chronic mental health issues. |
| RogerEbert.comCarlos AguilarThe tone rarely hits its target for dark levity, often making one wonder, “Was that meant to be funny?” |
| Original-CinLiam LaceyNone of this is helped by Platt’s performance, with a petulant eye-roll to every impediment, as if he were the fussbudget Felix of The Odd Couple and Cindy his disaster-prone Oscar. |
| VarietyNick SchagerIt strikes not a single authentic chord, and that also goes for the lead performance of Ben Platt, whose overdone theater-kid turn further dooms the material’s stabs at humor and pathos. |
| The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe movie treats illness as a series of contrivances, an engine that keeps the plot pistoning forward, and the result of this approach is a film that feels lifeless, or worse, reductive. |
| User ReviewBrent_MarchantWith all of the talk about mental health that has dominated the public dialogue of late, the subject has been imbued with a newfound seriousness, something not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, this misguided offering fails miserably on that point, especially in the film's opening half, attempting to defuse the weight of this subject by incorporating humor that borders on flippant and flops massively. In this story of an aspiring writer seeking to relocate to Paris to become a novelist, the protagonist suddenly finds himself having to take in and care for his unpredictable schizophrenic sister, derailing his plans and reinforcing a pattern of misfortune that has followed him throughout his life. But, even with the best of intentions for his sister's welfare, he quickly becomes afflicted with caregiver burnout as he sees his dream evaporate and watches his sibling descend deeper into the depths of mental illness. To its credit, the film gets remarkably better in the second half, mainly because it finally starts to take itself seriously. However, by that point, the damage is done, and there's not enough for the production to effectively redeem itself. A woefully missed opportunity. |
