Veronika Decides to Die (2009) User Reviews

Enjoyable, but not brilliant

[theworstseats · 6/10 · 20 January 2010]

2008's emotional bladder infection Twilight was created as a direct result of TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sarah Michelle Gellar was punished for her part in this with lead roles in both The Grudge and Scooby-Doo franchises. Now, freshly repentant and having reconciled with the film industry, she has returned to grace with an admirable performance in Emily Young's Veronika Decides to Die.

Based on the Paulo Coelho novel of the same name (in English anyway) Veronika Decides to Die is the story of a successful young woman, Veronika (played by Gellar) who tries to kill herself after deciding she is on a path towards a future she doesn't want. Unfortunately for her she fails and falls into a coma for several weeks, before being shipped to a mental institution where she is told damage incurred during the suicide bid will kill her within weeks.

Coelho's book focused on Veronika's freedom from constriction and her voyage of self-discovery as she came to terms with her imminent death and the freedom from responsibility that brought about. Young's film takes a more simplistic view and concentrates heavily on her love affair with Edward (Jonathan Tucker), a handsome young inmate who was struck silent after being involved a car accident. He is brooding and has pale skin. You don't see him outside during the day very much. He likes standing in the corner of darkened rooms. He's a wonderful artist.

Aside from similarities to her previous work, Gellar puts in a very strong performance as Veronika, although a confident supporting cast headed by Tucker as Edward and David Thewlis as the institution head Dr Blake help pull the film together during some of the duller moments.

As a serious exploration of anomie and the lack of control felt by many modern city-dwellers over their own lives, or a look at how removing the fear of death from our daily thoughts frees us, Veronika falls flat on its face. As a quirky little tale of love in a mental institution, it excels.

Average

[sjtar · 6/10 · 23 August 2019]

I have read the book, and this film adaptation seems to me to be something average, I didn't get much pleasure from viewing this film, somehow it looks too formal, sometimes illogical, as if some pieces of the film are missing. My recommendation is to watch the Japanese version, in my opinion it is a real masterpiece, that touches the soul.

Disappointing

[peter07 · 6/10 · 30 August 2009]

I read the book and saw the movie in Seoul, and I must say, it was quite disappointing. So many things were left out (and yes, I know this often happens in movies), but I feel the viewer won't get even half of the effect of the book by watching the movie.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, I think, wasn't the best person for the role of Veronika. Her performance was rather bland and we don't really feel sorry for her character, but part of this is because of the bad script and numerous omissions from the book.

To the movie's credit, the scenes with her and Edward are pretty good and it gets moving toward the end. Yet I think the movie could've been done so much better.

The movie is worth watching but left me wanting.

Compelling and Powerful!

[Red_Identity · 1 December 2009]

So I finally watched Veronika Decides To Die. Brilliant! I expected an 'okay' film after seeing some of the reviews from where it came out, but I honestly loved it. I have not been this moved by a film in a long time. Having not read the novel from which it is based on, I am sure the film stayed true to the essence and theme of the novel. It is a slow film, sometimes too slow for the 'mainstream' audience, but I was never bored. I have seen films with messages like this before, but somehow Veronika Decides To Die felt authentic, maybe because there has not been a film like this in a very long time. The writing is strong, giving Veronika and the supporting characters real backstory and depth. The director, Emily Young, should direct more than she does. She knows how to really command a scene. There were some flaws, for example the parents felt too one-dimensional, probably because of their small amount of screen time, and the actors that played them were not that great. However, in the acting department, they were the only flaws. Tremendous acting in this film! The star of the film, Sarah Michelle Gellar, really captures an inside look into her character's mind. I feel Gellar is strongly underrated as an actress, but I have always felt that she knows how to play subtle very well. The only other performance besides this where she really fleshed out her acting skills was in the disappointing The Air I Breathe, and the reason she was ignored was probably because the film was less-than-spectacular. However, here she gives her best performance, a tour-de-force performance that is quiet and subtle in the way she approaches the material. I was very impressed, because never did I think she was capable of making a performance this strong and subtle, however good I always knew she was. Melissa Leo and Erika Christensen also deliver first-rate performances. Christensen is charming and amusing, while Leo is powerful (no surprise since she was nominated for an Oscar last year). David Thewlis and Jonathan Tucker are also great, but to a lesser extent. The cinematography was beautiful. The camera-work gives the film a realistic feel to it, and there are some very beautiful images in the film. I have also heard complaining about the ending. I LOVED IT! It really made me happy seeing that this film actually had an optimistic and happy ending, one where Veronika's life is still moving on.

Overall, I could not have been more pleased with Veronika Decides To Die. There is not a reason why anyone should not see this film, unless they are too 'bored'. This film also holds one of the greater themes about life- live it to the fullest, because you never know when you may not even have the option to.

Beyond suspension of disbelief

[kimmed51-45-875436 · 6/10 · 9 March 2019]

The first thing wrong with this story is depression is anger turned inward and anger imprints and accumulates in the subconscious mind. Finding out you are going to die doesn't make it just go away. What accountant working in an office can play a grand piano like that and how often does a mental hospital have a perfectly tuned grand piano? Aside from these implausabilities the entire movie was very interesting. Now that she is not going to die those two will be at each other's throats within a month. Will there be a sequel?

it is much different from the novel itself, i must confess i enjoyed the novel much more than watching this movie.

[sampadmania · 6/10 · 24 January 2011]

it is much different from the novel itself, i must confess i enjoyed the novel much more than watching this movie. there were some mistakes and some misunderstandings audience may occur during watching, 1- veronica lived in different place 2- she was never married before. 3- she never saw an old woman walking pass the street while she was dying instead she saw a young man smiling at her, and she smiled back then he waved at her. 4- schizophrenic boy named Edward used to talk with that lawyer, but never in public. 5- she had some serious heart attacks by her pills but never mentioned. 6- when they wanted to start treatment on Edward they did it by electric shock which makes him lose his memory, but he could remember Veronica anyway.

Beautiful film - mediocre acting

[thniels · 6/10 · 19 September 2012]

Bearing some similarities with "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" I was somewhat skeptic from the start but quickly realised this had something else to offer. Cinematography was beautiful as were the sceneries, but acting as a whole was terrible. Dr. Blake was really quite good and Edward showed glimpses of greatness but that was all. For someone sinking, Veronika showed remarkable composure throughout and the attempt to show the patients as the only truly sane went completely overboard and lost the subtlety that would have been so becoming. The underlying story is good but implementation simply didn't do it justice. And what is it with these "Victorian" asylums? Surely they *did* exist in latter days - but this weird fusion between modern day therapy and a 100 year old perception of lunacy is contrived at best.

Most patronising film I have ever seen.

[Combovers · 2/10 · 5 April 2011]

I have actually signed up to IMDb today just so I could write this review.

Veronika wants to die is a terrible film. I won't go into the ridiculous plot synopsis (incase anyone actually does want to watch the film), but it is one of the most contrived depictions of mental health I have ever seen in a contemporary film. The patients in the institute are the most one dimensional 'crazies'- catatonic, unintelligent, childlike, etc... It's only a film I hear you say, but with it's so called 'dark' subject matter and shaky hand-held camera I think this film is attempting at some sort of realism. It is anything but.

It has the feel of trying - and failing - to be a film somewhat like Rachel Getting Married (Demme, 2008). However the characters lack depth and the plot (and consequently the ending) leaves you feeling cheated.

The music that's played throughout the film is unnecessary, it distracts from the narrative and leaves you with a conscious feeling of emotional manipulation.

There are many other reasons why this film is terrible, but as I am so enraged of wasting hours of my life watching it, I can't even think straight. I just hope someone else reads this review and doesn't make the same mistake I did.

The Awareness of Life

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 12 December 2009]

In New York, the middle-class Veronika Deklava (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a twenty and something year-old beautiful woman with a good job and a nice apartment. However, the feeling of emptiness of her pessimist view of life leads her to commit suicide with an overdose of pills. She fails in her intent and two weeks later she leaves the coma and awakes in a psychiatric institution directed by the unorthodox Dr. Blake (David Thewlis). She is informed that her OD injured her heart provoking an aneurysm and she has only a few weeks of life. Along the days, Veronika gets closer to the catatonic Edward (Jonathan Tucker), who was left in the institution many years ago. They feel attracted for each other and Veronika discovers the meaning of life again; they escape from the institution and decide to enjoy the miracle of each new day together.

The dramatic "Veronika Decides to Die" is based on the best-seller of Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho and has a magnificent performance of Sarah Michelle Gellar in the role of a suicidal young woman. Her complex character becomes aware of the simple things that make life so wonderful only after finding the meaning of love. The screenplay has great lines and discusses good points like the definition of insanity or the meaning of life. The cinematography and the stylish music score are very beautiful. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Veronika Decide Morrer" ("Veronika Decides to Die")

it is Okay movie

[smithellie1966 · 6/10 · 11 April 2015]

Everyone has different perception and here is mine. I wouldn't say that this movie was very bad or boring. It was not believable in my opinion. If you decide to commit suicide in your own home, you make sure the doors are locked and nobody is going to visit you in the next few days. In this film she did not even pass out before someone was already banging on her door and how did they come in? Let alone how did they find out? From the email she sent in response to an advertisement? From that on things were becoming even less realistic. A nut house that looks like a retreat for super rich. Not sure why her parents were even brought into the story. The sudden transformation from hating life to loving it was unsubstantiated. A guy? A silent guy who was sitting on a tree suddenly made her realize that life is worth living? Quite a stretch after she was cynical about guys and marriage and family life in general. The performances were okay. I did not watch any of her other movies prior to this one simply because they are not the movies I watch.The final scenes, after the escape, were dull, pretentious and unrealistic. This film just confirmed that I stick to foreign movies, which almost never disappoint me. Force Majeure is the latest one I enjoyed.

Insulting, ridiculous schmaltz.

[scarredpariah · 2/10 · 6 May 2015]

Not even Thewlis can save this trash. It had potential, but ended up being a ridiculous watercolour romance. It's been described as dark and understated. It's not. It's light, obvious schmaltz. There's no attempt at any realism, and it's an insult to anyone remotely familiar with the workings of a psychiatric unit. It promises themes of suicide and mental health but shows no understanding of either, merely using them as a cheap vehicle for clumsy, clichéd, feel-good garbage. In addition, the protagonist has no redeeming qualities, or even enough personality for the viewer to care about. The music is distractingly awful, as is most of the acting and direction. It's cheesy as all hell. Even if you have another century to live, do not waste a precious 94 minutes of it on this.

Glorious!

[Tino85 · 10/10 · 14 November 2009]

I just watched the movie at a film festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.

First of all the the music in the movie (especially when Veronika plays the piano) is very moving and really dragged me into the emotions of the scenes. It is so intense as if Veronika's inner world and feelings were my own.In my opinion Sarah Michelle Gellar did a great job conveying the personality of the character to the viewer.

Many people have read the book and I think that many will find the adaptation quite successful. As with other books made into movies, it is not as detailed as the original, but it is surely as intense and emotional.

As for criticism, somehow I find the role of the doctor somewhat secondary, there wasn't much interaction between the two of them. I was also a little surprised at how abrupt the movie ended at first, but as I think of it, a 30 minute ending would do more harm than good.

And the message is what is the most important part, it is something that all of us should be reminded about. And in contrast to other films with great messages, this one has a rich atmosphere that compels you to watch and watch and watch.

I guess more of Paulo Coelho's books will be made into movies, but I hope the adaptation is at least as good as this one.

Well Done

[aqos-1 · 7/10 · 16 March 2010]

This is a story about a suicidal girl. At first I was enjoying it because I could relate to it. Veronika is institutionalized for wanting to commit suicide. Inside she rebels and tries to reject everyone around her. She plays the piano and this attracts a resident that is usually very solitary. With her music, she seems to reach something inside of him that might help bring him out of his shell. By feeling needed by someone else, we can all see value in our own lives and we can stop living for what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do for others and we can start to see our value and maybe what some of our talents are capable of. Veronika seems to come to these realizations as she explores reaching out to this male resident.

The clichés just don't want to Die

[tim-764-291856 · 1/10 · 5 November 2011]

If anyone believes that going into a mental institution is about a private mansion on the Hudson, a Yamaha grand piano to play whenever (one in- tune, for that matter) and common rooms adorned with nice lamps, forget it. As for open, empty outdoor swimming pools and unsupervised indoor, full ones, well!

My worry is that anyone who does feel an affinity for this film's subject matter because they are indeed, themselves, suicidal, will feel that candy-flossed, contrived and convoluted hokums such as this will make them feel a bit better - or a little more comfortable, will only keep that thought for no longer than the 90 minutes this film goes on for.

Michelle Gellar's performance is good but what a sheer waste of David Thewlis's talents, one of England's finest character actors, for taking his part, as the dodgy Doc.

I have to admit, I was put off from the start with the usual Radiohead 'music of misery' scenario and I never really gave it a chance from then on. I could see some attractive sentiment and well-meaning toward the end but the route taken was belittling, patronising and almost dangerous.

Break Glass In Case of Emergency

[tieman64 · 5 April 2011]

"All healthy men have thought of their own suicide." – Albert Camus

"Veronika Decides to Die" stars actress Sarah Michelle Gellar as Veronika, a young woman who decides to die. Why does she decide to die? Because life, she thinks, sucks. Why does she eventually opt not to commit suicide? Because life, she realizes, is a gift worth living.

Gellar turns in a very good performance, but the film's script is condescending. It does not trivialize suicide – director Emily Young treats Veronika's pain with sympathy – but trivializes the existential questions which provoked Veronika's turmoil. Namely, what constitutes a life worth living? Isn't Veronika's solution (sex with a hunky guy) just a temporary biological solution to a metaphysical problem? How does Veronika rationalize participating in a culture which she views as being immoral and rife with hypocrisy? If life's a gift, why can't it be refunded? Why is suicide seen as an individual problem and not a valid response to a social problem? Why is it the individual's responsibility to adapt and not society's responsibility to change?

Ultimately, films like this deny any possibility of a social causation of mental illness, a stance which allows multinational pharmaceutical companies to peddle drugs which often trap their subjects in a cycle very similar to that which instigates their mental "illness" (in the film Veronika is not ill, but simply hyper aware). This myth of mental illness encourages us, moreover, to believe in its logical corollary: that social intercourse would be harmonious, satisfying, and the secure basis of a "good life" were it not for the disrupting influences of mental illness or "psychopathology."

7/10 – Worth one viewing.

This probably won't win any awards or be considered a classic but it is well worth your time and money.

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 16 March 2015]

"Don't confuse insanity with the loss of control." Veronika (Geller) is tired of living and decides to die. She takes a cocktail of alcohol and pills. When she wakes up in the hospital she is told that even though she didn't die she damaged her heart to the point of where she could still die anytime. Faced with having to wait longer in an institution she thinks this is worse. She begins to have an effect on other residents there and realizes things aren't as bad as she thought. This is a movie that starts off strong, drags a little in the middle but the ending is perfect and that is really what makes the movie. I don't want to give anything away, but if you start to get bored stick with the movie, you will not regret it. Geller is very good in this, and while the movie deals with suicide it never feels overly melodramatic or cheesy. It had tinges of Girl, Interrupted which I liked. This probably won't win any awards or be considered a classic but it is well worth your time and money. Overall, an OK movie with a perfect ending. I give it a B.

Not Bad.

[yusufpiskin · 7/10 · 25 October 2021]

Based on the novel of the same name by Paulo Coelho, it is a 2009 dramatic film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jonathan Tucker, Melissa Leo, David Thewlis and Erika Christensen and directed by Emily Young.

In the original version of the novel, the film takes place in New York, although the story takes place in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The movie, which was shot with a budget of 9 million dollars, made 1.7 million dollars in ticket revenue worldwide.

Although the adapted film is uninspired compared to the main source work, it is definitely a mediocre and watchable production when evaluated independently.

My favorite book it's now on the screen...

[PedroMGA · 6/10 · 23 December 2009]

Well this movie almost passed by without me ever noticing it by the lack of publicity at least in my country where the book is known by everyone....(weird, isn't it?). I don't read much so I can't really "decide" when and if the book is better then the movie ( there's a lot of that kind of discussion with several movies and I usually tend to stay away ) but this is my favorite book of all time so obviously i'm suspicious to talk about it. On top of that I don't like Sarah.It was a poor cast choise, so it's two points behind for the movie; also the film skips some very important pieces and moments in the character(s)development. Everything happens way to fast... Still, it's a little life lesson and tries to prove that love can cure everything(?).

Not a horror movie

[phenomynouss · 1/10 · 21 October 2020]

I'm not rating this so badly specifically because it's not a horror movie; AmazonPrime's entry for it listed it as horror for some reason. I was tricked in this way before with "Voice from the Stone" and I found it largely okay, if forgettable.

This one, by comparison, is a boring dud. Veronika goes through a whole ritual in the opening of attempting suicide, being found by her landlord or neighbor or someone and rushed to the hospital where she's saved. What reasons were given for this suicide attempt were flimsy and incoherent, and honestly they shouldn't have bothered trying to justify it at all. Suicide is obviously a serious subject matter and what ever happens in someone's life to drive them to that point are of immense trauma and tragedy to everyone involved.

This film doesn't bother with any of that. Veronika is then checked in to some kind of psychiatric hospital where she is inexplicably singled out and laughed at by patients seemingly out of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", including a young guy who doesn't speak, Edward. The doctor there says that her suicide attempt via pill overdose caused her to have a massive aneurysm which cannot be treated and she will die within weeks or months.

During this time staying at the hospital, she mostly does nothing and talks to other people. None of the other characters are particularly memorable or interesting, and I've already completely forgotten what, if anything, they all discussed.

VERY late in the film, Veronika seems to notice Edward. Despite having almost no screen time with Edward, Veronika and Edward inexplicably fall in love, about 50 minutes in to the film.

From there, any hint of drama almost immediately dissolves into nonsense as Edward suddenly starts to speak, and he and Veronika decide to escape the psychiatric hospital, with the head doctor knowing this and doing nothing about it.

The head doctor then just leaves with some notes for his nurses claiming that Veronika was actually fine and wasn't going to die; he LIED about the EKG results out of some yoga-mom philosophical nonsense reasoning that only by thinking she was going to die could Veronika come to appreciate life and thus no longer be suicidal.

It's even more frustrating because none of the characters do much of anything to be in any way compelling, and Veronika and Edward's inexplicable romance comes out of nowhere and has absolutely no chemistry at all.

Beautiful adaptation, astonishing acting- Gellar shines.

[lorcanryanblack · 9/10 · 10 December 2009]

For years I had a soft spot for the novel 'Veronika Decides To Die', perhaps because Coelho approached the subject material with verve, originality, sensitivity and the understanding that comes only from having lived through something similar.

When I heard of the movie, I was hoping it was going to be handled with the same deft of hand the author had used with the original incarnation of the work. I was worried that a movie of this novel would be haphazard, overtly-dramatic and, frankly, a botched effort. So when Sarah Michelle Gellar became attached to the project I was seriously relieved. Here's an actor who is so under-rated, Gellar has a considerable talent: the ability to transcend genres as an actor and succeed at it. Why she has remained so under-rated in her industry I honestly can't understand.

Her interpretation of Veronika Deklava in Veronika Decides To Die, I'm sure will be defined as being the role of Gellar's career thus far. Gellar makes this movie. Most actors have previously taken similar roles and gone for the overtly-melancholic, Hollywood-style "despair" and self-loathing, making it fraught with unreal overtly emotional behaviour that anyone who has suffered severe depression/mental-illness can tell you is usually not accurate. What Gellar does here is employ subtly, strength and honesty. Her interpretation of Veronika's despair smacks of someone who knows what she's dealing with, or at least has studied the realism of such suffering with consideration: in real life, severe depressives almost always strive to hide their despair from most of those around them. Veronika does this in the novel, and Sarah Michelle Gellar uses her talents to do it with her approach to her role in the film, and the result is an astonishing performance from her.

Gellar's Veronika is somehow far more real and affecting a character than anything thrown out in the last twenty years (e.g: Girl, Interrupted/One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and to lesser degrees movies such as Thirteen, House of Sand & Fog, The Hours...). The movie is slow, but never does it bore, or seem sluggish. I sat rapt with attention, moved to tears and frequently wishing the movie were going at a slower pace due to the astonishing performance of Gellar & indeed the rest of the cast. If you look at the novel itself: this is about Veronika, and how she effects those around her, and this is what the movie focuses on and does so almost flawlessly.

A previous reviewer described Gellar's acting here as a tour-de-force performance, commanding the screen with a subtly, sensitive touch, fraught with mixed emotion, confusion & strength. The rest of the cast are equally on top form, Erika Christensen is sad yet charming, Jonathan Tucker and particularly Melissa Leo are great and highly memorable in their supporting roles.

Not for one second did I think Gellar's Veronika was "void of emotion", on the contrary it's a performance filled with clearly conflicting emotions, broiling beneath the surface, always just a moment away from bubbling to the fore yet nearly always controlled- it's clearly a thought out, hard-worked at performance and having been in Veronika's position, having felt those emotions myself, I can see it in Gellar's performance. Her acting skills get a full workout here, she excels herself and has, I think, raised the bar for other actors in portraying hopelessness, disillusion and mental illness on screen in a way that perhaps only Bjork did in a similar way with her quietly charming but clearly sad, disillusioned yet hopeful portrayal of Selma in Dancer in the Dark.

Alright things are missing in the movie that may have helped, but what they did here was concentrate on the core idea: Veronika. They took it in the right direction and truly, this film shines because of it. The outstanding, subtly & strength of (all) the acting, the beautiful cinematography, the perfectly suited soundtrack and a refreshingly intelligent, honed script have made Veronika Decides To Die not only one of my personal favourite films, but also undoubtedly one of the best movies I have seen in several years. See it, if not for your love of the novel, but for the performances, you will be rewarded.

It has no doubt set the bar for future movies dealing with similar subject material, it shows you can make films about depression and suicide without the irritating emotional circuses previously done in the industry. Coelho, no doubt is very proud- and I'm sure relieved! Sadly I think though it is certainly Oscar worthy stuff on display, I'm not sure due to its rather scattered release, the fact it is independent and unlikely to get as broad a release and publicity as is needed for Oscar contenders generally, it would be tragic if all the bloody great acting on show here does not get its deserved recognition. If I had not already been a major fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar's work before, I certainly would have been after this.

See it!

Caring

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 30 December 2010]

The question is, how much do you care? And it's of course about the awareness of life, but also the awareness of others peoples misery. How much sympathy do you have in you. Can you care for Sarah Michelle G. character? Do you still see Buffy, when you watch her act on screen? Is the ending worth you while? Is this movie too preachy? What could have been done to improve it?

Those are all valid questions and I don't have answers for all of them (mainly because some can only be answered personally). The acting is really good though, it's the tone of the movie that seemed a bit off. For a movie that is about caring it does feel a bit to distant too. The theme handled here is good and worthwhile, but could have been handled in a better fashion.

Another I Really Am Worthy flick for the thinking masses

[ltlacey · 4/10 · 29 November 2010]

First off, I have read quite a bit of Paulo Coelho. His books are intense, personal, and also spiritual, though not as we would think, meaning religious. So when I heard that a movie had been made from one of his books I was a bit leery. How do you convey all of that inward retrospection and Being As One in a movie? Well, you really cannot. But this is not to say that Gellar (surprise, surprise) did not come across as the intense young woman from Coelho's story. But there are certain authors who come to mind and "Hollywood" gets their mitts on their work, and well, disaster is usually the result, and PC is one of them. In this story a young woman, obviously very depressed and who does not have such a good relationship with her parents, nor herself really, decides to kill herself, but fails. She awakens in an institution only to find out that her attempt at killing herself has in fact given her a death sentence, but now it will be prolonged. What to do? We find inner peace and meaning. Read the book instead.

A Fascinating Look At Death and Dying

[tabuno · 9/10 · 14 January 2019]

5 May 2015. There's not a lot of movies that really reveal the more grim prospect of early death and its impact on human life. Veronika offers another look at residential mental institutions but with a particularly heart wrenching but inspiring look at them. Sandra Bullock offered up 28 Days (2000) with her comedy-drama version of an alcoholic in denial, a mainly mainstream and entertaining look at mental illness. There's a rather quick but powerful look in Helen (2009). Angelina Jolie presented Girl, Interrupted (1999) with strong drama and mainstream popularity.

Yet its with Sarah Michelle Gellar, we find a more biting and bittersweet look at mental health, recovery, and inspiration in her performance as well as the plot outline that offers a more refined tone and a less glossy look at mental health. This intriguing movie turns not on its dramatics, but on the more subtle theme of mental illness and simple yet layered efforts at human interaction and mental growth.

It has the style and mood, but not a 100 % winner

[rlaine · 7/10 · 19 March 2011]

Haven't read this or any other book from Coelho, but I'm aware he's quite a bestseller.

To speak the truth, I'm not a huge fan of the general story. There are so many movies these days where people seemingly living a perfect life, figure out that the life they are living is somehow disappointing after all, be it for whatever reason. In this movie Veronika goes to extremes with the subject and decides to die. This is of course a completely different scenario compared to most movies where the characters just go bonkers otherwise. Suicide should never be an option.

From the very beginning, you will feel the depression. The whole movie is quite drowsy, like being under sedative medication. The mood is something derived from Lost in Translation and Virgin Suicides with a dream like quality.

The mood is the strongest part in the movie, cinematography, acting and music are all top notch. The story also is OK, but the script fails here and there. For example I had a bit of trouble figuring out the relationship between Veronika and Edward, what was the attraction other than they were both pretty handsome and attractive?

The other supporting roles also fall a bit short, even tho the actors are doing a good job. I would've liked to see more of Melissa Leo's and David Thewlis' characters development. Veronikas roommate is also left in the shadows, even tho she's introduced in a longish scene.

I'd say this movie felt more realistic than many other "mental hospital movies". It's the distant, lonely and depressing mood that lingers all the way that makes you feel more than the story tells.

Possible spoilers ahead:

What makes this movie interesting is the ending. Even tho it's quite upbeat and ends on a positive note, I kept feeling the same loneliness all the way until the credits. It could've turned into a really sweet and tacky by the end, but was handled with good subtlety.

Could've been a true winner is now a bit shallow due to a somewhat lackluster script.

So boring!

[doudzy-1 · 1/10 · 29 March 2010]

This movie could have been done much better and way more interesting. I was so bored throughout the movie I ended up forwarding most of it to reach the end.

I have read the book a long time ago and when I found out that the movie was released, I was very excited and expected it to be a good one, but it was very disappointing actually.

I also noticed that most of the scenes were too long. I believe that the movie would have turned out better if more stress was put on Veronika's life before she "decides to die" to get us a little attached, and therefore puzzled to why she took that decision when she had it all.

The ending was extremely boring too... I also watched it on fast forward..LOL!