Manic

Troubled youth with anger and rage issues are filmed documentary-style in a youth lockup ward. The plot is simple...counseling sessions, fighting, making friends, playing basketball. The dynamics of the plot are not simple, though. The acting is uniformly superb and, if there hadn't been easily recognizable actors in the film (Joseph Gordon-Levitt from "3rd Rock from the Sun" and Don Cheadle), you might think it was a real documentary.

The film, however, was filmed in cinema-verité by a cameraperson with a bad case of the jitters. The result is a constantly unfocused and moving camera like you've never experienced before. I saw this screening at the Seattle Int. Film Festival and aprox. 25% of the audience walked out in the first 30 minutes. If you can handle this type of film-making, then this thoughtful film is worth checking out, especially for the very realistic performances.