Focuses on the movie 'Angel Baby,' written and directed by Michael
Rymer. Storyline; Movie's depiction of schizophrenia.
By
Peter Doskoch, published on February 01, 1997
News & Trends
With a title like Angel Baby, you'd expect Michael Rymer's first
film to be a mawkish ode to parenthood or a New Age romance in the mold
of Ghost. Instead, it's the gritty tale of Henry and Kate, two
twenty-something Australians who fall in love and decide to have a
child--even though both are schizophrenic.
When writer-director Rymer first conceived of his lead characters,
however, he thought of them as passionate, spiritual--and psychologically
healthy. Only as he continued writing the screenplay did he realize they
were undergoing therapy and taking medication for schizophrenia. "Had I
started out to write about a mentally ill couple," says Rymer, "I would
have created characters who were a set of symptoms."
The movie, which has already picked up a slew of awards at various
Aussie and European film festivals, is one of the first to depict romance
between two people with schizophrenia. Rymer doesn't sugar-coat the
realities of mental illness, so this is definitely not a feel-good movie.
Still, in its touching depiction of a tragic disease, Angel Baby--slated
to open on January 24--is definitely heaven-sent.
Edited by Peter Doskoch
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