Directed by: Adam Salky.
Written by: Paige Dylan based on the novel by Amy Koppelman.
Starring: Sarah Silverman (Laney Brooks), Josh Charles (Bruce Brooks), Thomas Sadoski (Donny), Skylar Gaertner (Eli Brooks), Shayne Coleman (Janey Brooks), Terry Kinney (Dr. Page), Chris Sarandon (Roger).
The
“housewife is depressed and goes crazy” film is practically a genre unto itself
at this point – and stretches back decades in the movies at least. In old
school Hollywood terms, they we usually melodramas, which allowed great
actresses a chance to wildly over the top for their descent into madness –
although by the end, things were usually alright again, and they had recovered
from their tailspin. The new film I Smile Back doesn’t really add much
different to the genre – once again, it is a movie about a woman who seemingly
has it all – a nice husband, who works a good job, a nice house in the suburbs,
two adorable kids she adores – and yet Laney Brooks is miserable. She does
drugs, she sleeps around with men who don’t respect her (the last thing she wants
is respect) and basically tries (and succeeds) to push everyone around her
away. As with many of these movies, a long lost parent re-enters their life,
which provides some answers (or at least clues to answers). Other than the
rather graphic (and purposefully degrading) sex scenes in I Smile Back, this
could well have been a movie made in old school Hollywood. That is, except for
one thing – and that’s Sarah Silverman’s performance as Laney.
As
mentioned above, these types of movies often give great actress a chance to
emote – to play to the back row, with wild, loud gestures to signal how far
gone they are. What Silverman, who has been very public with her own struggles
with depression, does quite differently in I Smile Back is make Laney very
quiet and still – flat and emotionless in many way. She is spiraling downwards
to be sure, but she’s really slowly, quietly imploding. She cannot feel
anything – which is why she does the drugs, and has the degrading sex – it’s an
attempt to feel something, anything other than a flat nothing. This is much
more believable than the typical way it has been done in the past – with those
crazy performances, because it’s hard to believe anyone who acted that crazy
would be allowed to continue in society. But with Laney, you know why – no one
really notices just how gone she is. Silverman has delivered a few dramatic
performances before – like as Michelle Williams’ friend in Sarah Polley’s Take
This Waltz – but she’s never had to carry one like this before, and she pulls
it off wonderfully.
The
rest of the movie is nowhere near as good as Silverman. As I said, in many ways
this movie could have come out of Hollywood decades ago – there’s a sympathetic
doctor (Terry Kinney) who helps her, her husband (Josh Charles) who tries hard
with her, but eventually gets exasperated, there’s the so-called friend who
really uses her (Thomas Sadoski), the long lost father (Chris Sarandon) who
offers some answers, and of course the scene where Laney masturbates using a
teddy bear (okay, that last one is new). We’ve seen these scenes and characters
before, and I Smile Back doesn’t really do anything new, or all that enlightening
with them.
Yet,
Silverman’s performance is good enough that the movie is worth seeing – and the
fact that the movie doesn’t cop out at the end, and actually follows the story
to its logical conclusion (even if it takes a few illogical detours on the way)
is to its credit. I Smile Back is not a great movie – but it contains an
excellent performance – a portrait of depression that stands out amongst the
clichés that surround it.
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