Angel
Baby is an Australian film which walked away with many of
that country's film awards a few years ago, undoubtedly for
its authentic depiction of a mentally ill couple caught in
a bind between their dreams of an independent life and the
reality of their debilitating illness. The main characters
are Harry and Kate, who meet one day at a meeting for mentally
ill outpatients. Harry, with his medication, is actually
able to live a fairly normal life, and doesn't strike one
as really "strange", although he is undoubtedly a free spirit.
Kate, on the other hand, is touched with peculiarities and
demons despite the medication. When Harry quietly attempts
to get nearer to her on the bus after the meeting, she behaves
as if she is terrified of him, and runs swiftly off the bus.
But is it really fear, or just a game. Apparently the
latter, since she suddenly vanishes, only to jump out from
behind him and frighten him. Quickly, they engage in
talk, mainly about their mental past, and also a moment when
they reveal to each other their self-inflicted physical wounds
from suicide attempts.
Kate's
main calling in life is to read the secret messages she believes
are transmitted in the puzzles of "Wheel of Fortune".
Her guardian angel Astral gives her predictions of the future
through the answers. Kate is so adamant about getting
these messages she drags Harry to the nearest TV storewindow
to watch the show and write everything down. What is
somehow touching is the easy acceptance Harry gives to this
fact, even though they have only gotten aquatinted in a matter
of an hour. Most "normal" people would no doubt run
away, but Harry has been through the delusions of illness,
so he doesn't see Kate any more strangely than he does himself.
He feels he's met a kindred spirit, a soul mate.
Their
relationship grows more passionate and serious, and quickly
they decide they want to move in together, and begin a truly
independant life in society. Astral continues to give
predictions, including "Great Expectations", "big as a blimp",
and "Thank heaven for little girls". You guessed it,
a baby is coming. And this is where things begin
to go downhill. Like fickle Fortune`s wheel in classical
literature, Kate adn Harry`s fortunes indifferently go from
hopeful to hellish.
The
two decide to go off all stubstances which could be harmful
to the baby. This includes their medication. Immediately,
we see the effects of this dangerous event. A scene
which made me very uncomfortable involved the couple at a
K-Mart who, when confronted with a discount for a product
at the checkout line, violently demand to pay the full price
because Astral gave them those numbers. This scene continues
as a rollerblader accidently hits and cuts Kate. Kate
is angry and horrified when the kid helps her wipe off the
cut, becasue he has "stolen" her blood. In front of
many concerned and bewildered customers, she screams, cries,
and wipes the blood from the floor and licks it from her hands
in the hopes she can retrieve it. As days and
weeks go by, nothing improves, and things do not end happily,
but there seems to be no way they could, in this situation.
I
could quibble about how it seems the easy way out for the
woman to be the more severly mentally ill. Throughout
literary history women, more than men, have been deemed crazy
or eccentric, due to their behaviors. And in this film,
it is true that Kate is definitely the more unstable.
Harry is protrayed more as a man at the end of his rope, trying
to deal with the hopes of starting a family, making sure Kate`s
pregnancy goes fine, and with his own illness at the same
time. Kate is on her own wavelength, entirely cut off
from the whole world, with only Harry to truly understand
her. But one must isolate those past associations, because
I believe most stories are about specific characters anyway.
They only stand for themselves. Also, it took
me a while to understand why Harry would also get off the
medication, since he is not the one carrying the baby.
But then I realized that these two are inseprable, two people
linked into one soul. They believe this almost literally,
so of course they are "literally" going through this pregnancy
together. Naturally for them, it could only be "safe"
for the child if both halves of the same "body" stop with
the possibly toxic medication.
This
film is well-done, with fine acting, and sympathetic characters.
It doesn`t lay on the preachiness about the struggles of mentally
ill people; it just gives us the struggles and the people,
plain and simple. It is also for those who can withstand
unhappy endings. All I can say is that after all these
depressing movies I`ve seen lately, from this one to One True
Thing
and Brillant Lies, for once I should watch something that
won`t sadden me for a few hours after
David
Macdonald
David
Macdonald's Movie Reviews
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