For those who like something different and offbeat, the indie Madeline’s Madeline looks into the mind of a teen who comes to grips with her mental illness. Nicely acted, directed and filmed the movie creates an aura of dread while reaching for answers to the girl’s psychological depression. The strong point of the film is several scenes of mesmerizing improvisation that delve into the psyche and extract the truth about Madeline.
In a world of her own, 16-year-old Madeline (Helena Howard) has faced two months in a facility while professional psychologists have worked with her for her disorder. Now at home, her mother Regina (Miranda July) dotes over her trying to come to grips with Madeline’s psychosis. Finding an outlet with a local theatrical troupe, Madeline opens up to the group of improvisational actors. Yielding to the director Evangeline (Molly Parker), she gets personal support that she lacks from her mother. But her life still has an emptiness, bitterness and teenage desires that start to boil up in her dreams and the contact with boys in her neighborhood.
While her mother feels helpless with her daughter’s bi-polar illness, she still tries to support her even though there’s no love in return. It’s not long after that, Evangeline realizes that Madeline has the talent for a role as a mental patient and tries to use it in her favor with the group she’s directing. Director and writer Josephine Decker develops her character Evangeline in the film with similar traits to the main character creating a “perfect storm” for her unpredictable ending.
Not knowing much about Decker, the only factor to consider is her body of work that includes; Thou Wast Mild & Lovely and Butter on the Latch. Both deal with personal problems and psychological fantasies. With Madeline’s Madeline she ponders the psyche of both the title character and Evangeline each fighting the daemons within themselves. It’s this strong desire to break free from the haunts within Madeline and the challenge for Evangeline of making those daemons play a part in the fantasy she directs. Both characters feel the fury in this “be careful what you wish for” screenplay.
The acting by the trio of Helena Howard as Madeline, Molly Parker as Evangeline, and Miranda July as Regina is exceptionally good. Its Howard’s first stab at a film role and she nails the bipolar Madeline with aplomb. Making the teen believable as a person trying to recover from a traumatic disorder, she shows how Madeline becomes vindictive and troublesome. I feel she could make a good career of acting if she gets the right roles.
Molly Parker puts on her best face as she tackles a troubled director Evangeline who has been floundering with her group of actors. Trying to put together an improvisational production that seems to be going nowhere she notices the moody Madeline. Not knowing she has already been under psychic care, she blends her into a morbid play that turns sideways. Parker has over 90 film and TV credits to her name including TV’s “House of Cards” and the films American Pastoral and Small Crimes.
In the role of Madeline’s mother Regina, Miranda July shows her character as a weak, ineffectual person that’s sometimes confused. She fears her daughter who has become malevolent. Not understanding the effects of Madeline’s illness she can’t cope with her spiteful feelings toward her. Having overly cautious feelings about Evangeline’s involvement with her daughter, leads her in an odd direction that makes matters worse. This is her first full feature film and she does a very good job of making Regina believable.
Madeline’s Madeline has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language, teen smoking, teen drinking, sexual innuendos, nude photographs, and scenes from a porno playing on a TV during a confrontation. Be cautious when deciding to bring immature teens to see the movie.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film with interesting characters and a disheartening plot. (4 out of 5 stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Helena Howard, Molly Parker, Miranda July, Curtiss Cook, Reynaldo Piniella
Directed and written by: Josephine Decker
Genre: Drama, Mystery, thriller
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1 hr. 33 min.
Opening Date: August 31, 2018
Distributed by: Oscilloscope Films
Released in: Standard
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
