Veronika Decides to Die

In New York, the middle-class Veronika Deklava (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a twenty and something year-old beautiful woman with a good job and a nice apartment. However, the feeling of emptiness of her pessimist view of life leads her to commit suicide with an overdose of pills. She fails in her intent and two weeks later she leaves the coma and awakes in a psychiatric institution directed by the unorthodox Dr. Blake (David Thewlis). She is informed that her OD injured her heart provoking an aneurysm and she has only a few weeks of life. Along the days, Veronika gets closer to the catatonic Edward (Jonathan Tucker), who was left in the institution many years ago. They feel attracted for each other and Veronika discovers the meaning of life again; they escape from the institution and decide to enjoy the miracle of each new day together.

The dramatic "Veronika Decides to Die" is based on the best-seller of Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho and has a magnificent performance of Sarah Michelle Gellar in the role of a suicidal young woman. Her complex character becomes aware of the simple things that make life so wonderful only after finding the meaning of love. The screenplay has great lines and discusses good points like the definition of insanity or the meaning of life. The cinematography and the stylish music score are very beautiful. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Veronika Decide Morrer" ("Veronika Decides to Die")

This film is about a young woman who attempts to kill herself by an overdose. She is admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, and another chapter of her life enfolds.

The book "Veronika Decides to Die" has a good word of mouth, and its author is world famous. So I thought the film would be good, and chose it for a film night with friends. It proved to be a disastrous decision. The film is so slow, tortuous and pretentious. There is so little material so they have to stretch everything to fill up the ninety minutes of screen time. I mean, how long do you have to watch the characters walking down a corridor or staring out the window? My friends started making excuses to leave about half way through, and one hour into the film, all seven friends have left. That's how boring "Veronika Decides to Die" is. My friends who have read the book said this adaption does not do the book justice, and there are seemingly pointless additions in the film. So, if you want yourself to be touched by the story, read the book instead.

2008's emotional bladder infection Twilight was created as a direct result of TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sarah Michelle Gellar was punished for her part in this with lead roles in both The Grudge and Scooby-Doo franchises. Now, freshly repentant and having reconciled with the film industry, she has returned to grace with an admirable performance in Emily Young's Veronika Decides to Die.

Based on the Paulo Coelho novel of the same name (in English anyway) Veronika Decides to Die is the story of a successful young woman, Veronika (played by Gellar) who tries to kill herself after deciding she is on a path towards a future she doesn't want. Unfortunately for her she fails and falls into a coma for several weeks, before being shipped to a mental institution where she is told damage incurred during the suicide bid will kill her within weeks.

Coelho's book focused on Veronika's freedom from constriction and her voyage of self-discovery as she came to terms with her imminent death and the freedom from responsibility that brought about. Young's film takes a more simplistic view and concentrates heavily on her love affair with Edward (Jonathan Tucker), a handsome young inmate who was struck silent after being involved a car accident. He is brooding and has pale skin. You don't see him outside during the day very much. He likes standing in the corner of darkened rooms. He's a wonderful artist.

Aside from similarities to her previous work, Gellar puts in a very strong performance as Veronika, although a confident supporting cast headed by Tucker as Edward and David Thewlis as the institution head Dr Blake help pull the film together during some of the duller moments.

As a serious exploration of anomie and the lack of control felt by many modern city-dwellers over their own lives, or a look at how removing the fear of death from our daily thoughts frees us, Veronika falls flat on its face. As a quirky little tale of love in a mental institution, it excels.

So I finally watched Veronika Decides To Die. Brilliant! I expected an 'okay' film after seeing some of the reviews from where it came out, but I honestly loved it. I have not been this moved by a film in a long time. Having not read the novel from which it is based on, I am sure the film stayed true to the essence and theme of the novel. It is a slow film, sometimes too slow for the 'mainstream' audience, but I was never bored. I have seen films with messages like this before, but somehow Veronika Decides To Die felt authentic, maybe because there has not been a film like this in a very long time. The writing is strong, giving Veronika and the supporting characters real backstory and depth. The director, Emily Young, should direct more than she does. She knows how to really command a scene. There were some flaws, for example the parents felt too one-dimensional, probably because of their small amount of screen time, and the actors that played them were not that great. However, in the acting department, they were the only flaws. Tremendous acting in this film! The star of the film, Sarah Michelle Gellar, really captures an inside look into her character's mind. I feel Gellar is strongly underrated as an actress, but I have always felt that she knows how to play subtle very well. The only other performance besides this where she really fleshed out her acting skills was in the disappointing The Air I Breathe, and the reason she was ignored was probably because the film was less-than-spectacular. However, here she gives her best performance, a tour-de-force performance that is quiet and subtle in the way she approaches the material. I was very impressed, because never did I think she was capable of making a performance this strong and subtle, however good I always knew she was. Melissa Leo and Erika Christensen also deliver first-rate performances. Christensen is charming and amusing, while Leo is powerful (no surprise since she was nominated for an Oscar last year). David Thewlis and Jonathan Tucker are also great, but to a lesser extent. The cinematography was beautiful. The camera-work gives the film a realistic feel to it, and there are some very beautiful images in the film. I have also heard complaining about the ending. I LOVED IT! It really made me happy seeing that this film actually had an optimistic and happy ending, one where Veronika's life is still moving on.

Overall, I could not have been more pleased with Veronika Decides To Die. There is not a reason why anyone should not see this film, unless they are too 'bored'. This film also holds one of the greater themes about life- live it to the fullest, because you never know when you may not even have the option to.

I have read the book, and this film adaptation seems to me to be something average, I didn't get much pleasure from viewing this film, somehow it looks too formal, sometimes illogical, as if some pieces of the film are missing. My recommendation is to watch the Japanese version, in my opinion it is a real masterpiece, that touches the soul.