This movie is an interesting take on life, suicide, and human behaviour. I enjoyed watching it. Good performance from Paul Rudd and good suspense. I can't properly capture the gist of the film with words but it gave me lots to think about the human condition.
*****Warning, may contain spoilers below:*****
Even though there is an element of make-believe implied in all movies, there are still some logistical points I have. First of all, it seems odd to promise to kill yourself in two days, so much so you have assembled a whole crew to film it, yet at the same time have absolutely no thoughts whatsoever as to how you might do it. This is especially surprising since, in the film, character Paul Miller states his mind has been made up and he's already thought killing himself through.
Next, the film ignores the risks of CO poisoning and, despite the fact it appears Paul is in his car for a long time (I am under the impression you would die in 5-10 minutes), he is still able to pry open the car door and wakes up a while later with only a few side effects(perhaps the movie tried to show memory loss as having him not remember waking up earlier in the hospital?). Also, I suspect he would have likely been blinded and in worse condition but I'm no expert (disclaimer). His "2-day-old-friendship friend" would have also been in considerable danger so I was left wondering what happened to him. In fact, this friend was present for most of the suicide and after.
Lastly, the ending was amazing but for it to occur Paul just up and left the hospital. It is a huge process to leave a psych ward because the wards are locked down and patients are usually fitted with monitors. And if you just killed yourself, you would generally have a monitor and constant surveillance every 5 minutes. You might even be locked in one room if you're only in an emergency ward. Either way, in real life the ending still could have occurred after he left the hospital heavily medicated after a lengthy discharge process with a guardian there to monitor and escort him out but that ruins the magic so we'll leave it.
But either way, I liked the portrayal of Paul Miller so I shall let these minor queries/technicalities slide. This film really spoke to me personally at the time. 7/10
*****Warning, may contain spoilers below:*****
Even though there is an element of make-believe implied in all movies, there are still some logistical points I have. First of all, it seems odd to promise to kill yourself in two days, so much so you have assembled a whole crew to film it, yet at the same time have absolutely no thoughts whatsoever as to how you might do it. This is especially surprising since, in the film, character Paul Miller states his mind has been made up and he's already thought killing himself through.
Next, the film ignores the risks of CO poisoning and, despite the fact it appears Paul is in his car for a long time (I am under the impression you would die in 5-10 minutes), he is still able to pry open the car door and wakes up a while later with only a few side effects(perhaps the movie tried to show memory loss as having him not remember waking up earlier in the hospital?). Also, I suspect he would have likely been blinded and in worse condition but I'm no expert (disclaimer). His "2-day-old-friendship friend" would have also been in considerable danger so I was left wondering what happened to him. In fact, this friend was present for most of the suicide and after.
Lastly, the ending was amazing but for it to occur Paul just up and left the hospital. It is a huge process to leave a psych ward because the wards are locked down and patients are usually fitted with monitors. And if you just killed yourself, you would generally have a monitor and constant surveillance every 5 minutes. You might even be locked in one room if you're only in an emergency ward. Either way, in real life the ending still could have occurred after he left the hospital heavily medicated after a lengthy discharge process with a guardian there to monitor and escort him out but that ruins the magic so we'll leave it.
But either way, I liked the portrayal of Paul Miller so I shall let these minor queries/technicalities slide. This film really spoke to me personally at the time. 7/10