It so refreshing to find a movie that delivers a sincere & serious message with no underlying agenda other than to educate and broaden awareness. Darious Britt's "Unsound" does just that. The film delivers a "right between the eyes" look into the world of mental illness. Unsound avoids all sensationalism and emotional gimmickry and delivers its' message with a very real "it is what it is" style.
Unsound follows the relationship of Regi, a young filmmaker, and his schizophrenic Mother. We watch as Regi fights not just his Mom, but the entire mental health system that values patient privacy and integrity in lieu of patient health. In a particularly heartbreaking scene we see Regi wait an entire day (shrieking his own responsibilities and other relationships) in an attempt to speak to his Mother's Doctor. The Doctor, scheduled to deem the Mother well and return her to society the following day, refuses to see or even speak to Regi due to patient confidentiality.
At its' core, Unsound is a film about love and relationships. There are numerous ways to categorize its' genre, but my personal take would be to call it a love story. It is a poignant, heartbreaking look into the lives of a son and the mentally ill mother he cares for. There are beautiful loving moments and there are moments of unspeakable insanity. The film teaches that without the proper handling, folks involved with the mentally ill are just not safe. Be it a Mother who is approaching her Son threateningly with a butcher knife or running into traffic alone playing suicidal games. Safety and normality require intervention and receiving intervention requires knowledge of the truth. Rarely do those suffering with mental illness speak the truth of their circumstances
It is only family and loved ones around them who bear the burden of the truth.
No surprise ending here
The film does not oblige by offering resolution and closure. Mental illness cycles, but never resolves
The problems of those in the audience are dwarfed by the disclosures in this remarkable piece of work
Thank you Darious for having the courage to share this heartbreaking story
