Beyond Lies

Bon film !

source: The Adderall Diaries

I can usually tell if I'll like a film in the first 5 minutes. This film had me at minute 1. All the actors are excellent. The themes are thought provoking, something I think just about everyone can relate to. We all have different memories of our childhood. One sister or brother remembers it one way, you another, and the parents yet another. I have found that over time I want to strengthen my memories, or at least have them be justified and validated. Perhaps we each begin justifying and validating our memories to fit a certain story. How often do our memories paint us in a better light and someone else in a less admirable position. Can we be unbiased in our memories?

Why medium rare? Because I like it better than well done. This movie hits too close to home for many of the reviewers I can tell. Problem is that they are living it or agree with the abusive bullying lifestyle. It makes me sick to see 4 and 5 stars out of 5 for so many stinkers and this one gets low ratings. This isn't the best movie but it isn't a waste of time. Great cast and it is well made. Make yourself a drink and a smoke if you like and watch this one with your dog on a rainy. This is a tale about a guy that hates himself and was raised by a parent that also hated himself thus the vicious cycle of self hate and low self esteem. How can we learn to see life in a better way? How do we rewire our brains from a lifetime of conditioning in an abusive environment. Not every movie ends like a fantasy that is personally gratifying. Why? Because people do not make as many happy endings. If you want that to change make some effing happy endings and stop breaking people in half. That goes for women and men. Stop if you aren't too broken to pull it off.

"A father does what he has to do to protect his children." Stephen Elliott (Franco) is a successful writer who is going through a bout of writers block. He begins to find inspiration in a court case involving the murder of a woman by her husband. The trial begins to drag up painful memories of his own past and living with his father Neil (Harris). When Neil once again shows up Stephen begins to spiral and it effects every aspect of his life. This is a strange movie. The acting is great, as expected but the idea is a little generic and overused. The thing that really keeps the movie from being too cookie cutter are the actors. Franco does a great job playing the tortured soul, Heard is great as the confused girlfriend and Harris, as always, steals the movie and plays his part so perfect that you aren't sure if he is really as bad as Elliott portrays him. All that said this is a a decent movie but nothing to rush and see. Overall, great acting and casting really makes this movie better than it could have been. Worth a rent. I give this a B-.

Given the Title, Adderall (focus driven medication prescribed for ADHD and narcolepsy), it's only mentioned as a "Catch-All" for Drug Addiction. James Franco is getting to the Point where No One can take Him Seriously anymore. So Overexposed and with Limited Ability to Transcend His Own Personality, He gives Performance after Performance Playing Himself. A Best Selling Memoir from Author Stephen Elliott is the Source Material. The Plot of the Movie Explores Memory Confabulation. It's a Heady Affair that Lacks Focus. It Rambles with Borderline Incoherence Dealing with so many Profound Subjects that most of it is Lost in the Translation of Clichéd Sex and Drug Behavior Attempting to be "Indie-Edgy" with Sadomasochism. Nothing is Drawn from the Personality Disorders or Family Dysfunction beyond "True Crime" Motivations and to be frank, not much is Realized even there. A Mess of a Movie with Ed Harris Overacting to Burn Up the Screen with Hidden Clues about what Really Happened. In the End it is Doubtful You will Care. The Main Problem in the Movie is its Ambition to Group Dysfunction, Addiction, and Mental Illness into a Pot and Stir. The Cinematic Stew, Unfortunately is Tasteless and no where Near Fulfilling or Satisfying.

Books on fiction and even more so autobiographical memoirs are always edited, self edited if you prefer. Even the most brutally frank of memoirs there is always a part so painful we don't want to tell the world and we hope that no one else is keeping track to tell it differently. That's what happens to James Franco on another of his quirky projects playing a writer who does his Adderall like peppermint candy. Franco is covering the trial of wife killer Christian Slater and as the testimony rolls he sees some of his own life especially in his relationship with his estranged father Ed Harris who sees the same incidents and others he prefers to remember a bit differently. Franco and Harris have some great scenes together they are the heart of the film. Editing our memories is the phenomenon this film chose to explore. If not the best of explanations it's a valiant attempt.

I like the balance in "The Adderall Diaries" as well as performances of the director Pamela Romanowsky and artists (James Franco and Ed Harris). The balance of between different way of seeing. We all may storytellers and we like telling the stories how we perceive and/or how we want to see the truth. We may sometime get closer the truth or we may create our own truth. The movie perfectly depicts this by keeping another well-created family story in the background. The story-telling way of the movie gives freedom to the audience without applying or imposing one way. Very successful direction and James Franco plays perfectly. No need to say how Ed Harris has been a shiny masterpiece. Thank to all.

Some thoughts on this dog of a movie: Cary Grant and George Clooney, both of whom could act charmingly on screen never attempted to carry a film just with that quality. Mr Franco, you don't have the restraint, judgment or charm of Grant or Clooney. Give acting via characterization a try. Poor Ms. Heard, seemingly a naif, is to be believed to be a crime reporter for the NY Times? More likely that she is a children's book reviewer limited to books for ages 3 and under. Also highly laughable was the amount of free time she had while on the Times' nickel. Cynthia Nixon had what can be described as a thankless role; that of a slavishly loyal agent who still 'believes' in Franco's cosmic talent even after he's caught publicly in a massive lie. And we're to believe that a major publisher would still back this liar after such a damaging disclosure? The straw that broke the dromedary's back for me re screenplay however was when the barely-in-control father (Ed Harris), looking like a bum, was somehow able to find out the address of a N.Y. Times reporter and tape a post-it to 'her door'. Enough. I surrender. I turn off the player and go watch a real movie, "Chicken With Plums" in this instance.

This movie is journey about coming to terms with who you are and how you became that person. The enigmatic Franco plays a deeply troubled writer who is trying to come to terms with his traumatic past and the heartbreakingly tumultuous relationship he had with his father. Along the way, he meets the beautiful Amber Heard. This is why I did not give the movie more stars. If it was the writers intent to portray her as damaged as he was, it was an epic fail. She came across as strong and self-assured -almost cocky at times - not what you would expect from someone reeling from childhood trauma. It was no fault of Heard's - her character was just badly written. Ed Harris rocks the screen, as usual, as the domineering father who haunts his dreams and creates the clouds of his past that he can't see through. The mind is amazing - we can do all sorts of things to protect ourselves. The ability to alter our memories is only one tool of many. This one is worth your time.