Film review: ‘The Mental State’
A Flawed But Poignant Movie About What Happens When Mental Illness Is Neglected
Film: The Mental State. Year: 2022. Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Drama. Director: James Camali
Ever since the tragedy happened at Columbine in 1999, high school shootings have been THE topic of conversation, not only in the news and media but also in films. While features such as Elephant by writer/director Gus Van Sant and co-writer/director Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin are a tough watch, they also feel highly contemporary, even more so as the US has to deal with an increase in school shootings. We can say the same about The Mental State, the latest movie by director James Camali (A Fatal Obsession). Together with co-writers Jeremy Anderson (Binary) and Joshua Barclay (Gary), he brings topics such as school shootings, drug abuse, mental illness and bullying to the big screen in a sincere, earnest and emotional way.
The movie — which offers a critical look at how America deals (or, better said, “doesn’t deal”) with mental heath and school shootings — is being told from the POV of the lead character Andy Cady (Jance Enslin) who lives in rural Kentucky. This way of filmmaking heightens the emotional effect, making the feature much more compelling and impactful. You ultimately get sucked into the world…
