May 2, 2013
Helen – US, 2009
I suppose I’m predisposed to like films such as Sandra
Nettelbeck’s uneven 2009 effort, Helen,
insomuch as I genuinely enjoy films that are more character-driven than
plot-driven. Films like these are often about fascinating, true-to-life
characters who we watch attempt to maneuver their way through life without
inflicting harm to those around them or being harmed themselves. In most
instances, they are simply looking for those basic of things – love, happiness,
family. And like real life, some days are easy, wile others are simply
unbearable. In the film’s opening credits, we see home movies of a couple’s
early days at the beach. Smiles extend over each of their faces, and we get the
sense that they have found what they are looking for. However, their bliss
turns out to be fleeting and transitory.
At a surprise party towards the beginning of the film, Helen
Leonard (Ashley Judd), a professor of musical theory at a local university, is
given a piano. As one would expect, she then obliges her guest with a piece of
classical music. She is clearly out of practice, a fact that would normally
just cause a slight degree of embarrassment. However, if you look closely, you
can clearly see that each incorrect note is like a dagger piercing her skin.
Later, after the guests have all gone home and her husband and her daughter are
fast asleep, she returns to the piano, unable to rest until she gets the piece
right. It is the first hint that something is not right. Other hints soon follow
– insomnia, obsessive compulsive tendencies, sudden and controllable eruptions
of tears. Eventually they become debilitating.
Other than Helen, the only other truly significant character
in the film is Mathilda (Lauren Lee Smith), a young student in one of Helen’s
classes. After an awkward introduction which for some time seemed entirely too
coincidental to be believed, I began to see Mathilda as exactly the right
person at the right time. Like Helen, she too is wrestling with some pretty
terrifying demons, and when they manifest out of nowhere, it is as if her entire
body is under attack. It is in these moments that she is capable to doing great
physical harm to herself in an effort to make the discomfort stop. At a
hospital, the two of them share a room, and they begin to form a surprisingly
strong bond. When her husband asks Helen what makes Mathilda so special, Helen
replies, “She doesn’t ask how I feel. She knows.” This is important because
unlike Helen’s husband, David, Mathilda doesn’t harbor any deep-seated hope
that Helen will miraculously return to normal through such time-honored
traditions as relaxing at home, taking medication, and traveling to supposed
stress-free locals. There’s even a scene in which the two ladies create a list
of the least-helpful advice they get from people who have no idea what they are
talking about. Their list includes all of the suggestions above and a few more
that I hadn’t expected.
The esteem I felt for these two characters only made my
disappointment in the other one’s in the film more palpable, for other than
Helen and Mathilda, characters like David and Helen’s daughter Julie come
across as nothing more than cardboard cutouts. The doctors Helen encounters all
go about their jobs as if they are numb to the pain of their patients. As for
Julie, we get long shots of her hearing about or witnessing her mother’s problems
and reacting to them by breaking into tears or running away. These scenes are somewhat
believable, yet there should be more to them. There should be conversations or
at the very least failed attempts at conversation. Instead, the film just moves
on to the next dramatic event, giving the impression that these characters are
doing nothing to try to prevent the complete collapse of their happy home. David
gets to experience whatever emotion will produce the most drama regardless of
whether it is realistic or not, and more often than not, the emotion he conveys
is frustration and anger. I would expect someone going through an experience
like this to be more pro-active - to read more, talk to specialists, and hire
around-the-clock care. Instead he leaves her alone at home for long stretches
of time and then gets angry when she doesn’t get better on her own. I imagine
that these emotions are real enough, yet watching a parade of scenes in which
the same character makes mistake after mistake proves tiring, and I found
myself somewhat wishing that he and his wife would not get back together.
Suffice to say, the film is strongest when it focuses on Helen
and Mathilda, and their scenes together are incredibly moving. As Helen, Ashley
Judd gives a powerful performance that will remind viewers just how good of an
actress she is, and Lauren Lee Smith gives an equally impressive performance as
Mathilda. Their hard work is unfortunately nearly undone by the film’s
paint-by-numbers approach to drama and its overuse of melodrama to move the
story forward. I also have to wonder what Sandra Nettelback is trying to say by
wrapping up Helen’s problems in the way that she does. The film is therefore a
mixed bag containing two great performances, an interesting set-up, and
extremely clunky execution. Still, I recommend the film. I cared for these
characters, and I found myself wishing them well. And sometimes that’s enough.
(on DVD and Blu-ray)
3 stars
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