Brain on Fire

A very good documentary of the life of this girl and her condition. It's not supposed to be cool, fun or even filled with special effects. The actor brings the effects and that is the point with this movie. I liked it and I felt for her. It also gave me a deeper understanding of the condition she's suffering from.

6/23/18. I read the book a few years ago and did not know they made it into a movie. Obviously, I had to watch it. It was a very good adaptation of the book, which I loved. It was good that Suzanne Cahalan recovered from this terrible brain condition to write about it. She could have wasted away in a psychiatric hospital because the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with her and wrote off her illness as a psychiatric condition. It wasn't until Dr. Najjar came on board, did the biopsy and gave her proper treatment that Cahalan's life turned around. Totally inspirational and worth watching.

Many viewers are giving this film a high rating and are upset if anyone gives a lower rating. They are judging this film on the disease and not the movie. IMDb uses criteria to arrive at a fair value, which in most cases is more accurate. It is not an average of all ratings added together but is based on all ratings made. My rating of 6 for this important movie is very close to this adjusted final rating and thus my thoughts about the movie tallies with this logic. The movie itself is only average, dealing with a very important subject. I am glad to have seen it.

A young newspaper writer suffers an unexpected breakdown and this film follows the consequences, medical review, treatment options, meds, etc. It's an interesting story with a somewhat rare root cause, but not that unique considering the exponential learning curve of medical science just in the last 50 years. The screenplay possibly originated in a medical journal. For me, the best part was the insider's view of medical triage: the trials and tribulations of diagnosis, the pressure of expediency, and the effects of advocacy paired with available health care. Suggestions for Chloe Grace Moretz casting/make-up: - the puffy lips were distracting - her nails were too perfect for someone earning a living at a keyboard AND suffering manic episodes.

Wow. This is a great case that psychiatry is basically a pseudoscience from a prior century, and unfortunately it's still a fallback for medical doctors when they can't explain a neurological problem -- much like in even prior eras when natural phenomenon that were unexplained would be chalked up to supernatural causes. Brain on Fire was nerve wracking and suspenseful. Maybe it wasn't quite as artful as A Beautiful Mind, but the acting was at least good enough and I agree with the other reviews: important subject matter.

This movie is about a very serious topic. The movie itself isn't all that complicated, but it makes you think about the the whole psychiatric system and all the wrong and serious diagnosis given to various of people, especially young ones. The main actress did a great job. Her name is Chloe Grace Moretz and yes she's just adorable. The movie really surprised me, in a good way, and yes I highly recommend it.