Daddy Cool

Living with a bipolar father proves difficult for two young girls when their mother has to move away to study in this comedy-drama blend set in the 1970s. The title comes from the youngest daughter misnaming her father's condition as "polar bear" - thematically relevant as the overall film is about the two girls learning to accept their father's behaviour beyond their own preconceptions, appreciating what he does do well. From such a description, the film might sound overly sweet, and in a way it is, only ever seeming to skim the surface, focusing only on how embarrassed the girls are by their father's inability to integrate into society. There are a couple of moments in which the girls genuinely seem afraid of what their father might do, but the film never tugs at the full experience of living with someone with mental issues; as others have said, Mark Ruffalo comes off as more an everyday eccentric than a manic depressive. That said, Ruffalo's performance is the film's best asset, frequently communicating a genuine interest to bond with his daughters and care for them in small, subtle ways. His facial expressions and movements convey more than his dialogue and it is easy to feel for his frustration at not being able to be everything that his daughters want. It is much harder to reconcile the film's blanket negative attitude to the US public school system throughout, but it does act as an acceptable symbol of all that the girls' parents are worried about, and the film does offer an acute portrait of parents doing what they can for their offspring, even if it falls short in other areas.

'INFINITELY POLAR BEAR': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A comedy-drama flick, about a bipolar dad, struggling to raise his two young daughters; while his wife tries to support their family, in business school. The film was written and directed by Maya Forbes; and it's based on her own life experiences (as a young girl, with a bipolar father). The movie stars Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide. It's an interesting, and well made film study; on mental illness, and how it effects loved ones.

The story takes place in late 1970s Boston. Cameron Stuart (Ruffalo) is married to Maggie; and they have two young daughters together, Amelia (Wolodarsky) and Faith (Aufderheide). When Cameron has a bipolar breakdown, he's fired from his job and put in a mental hospital. Maggie moves their daughters into a cheap apartment, in a poor part of town. When Cameron is released from the hospital, Maggie asks him to take care of their kids; while she goes to business school, in New York full time. Cameron agrees, and then struggles to maintain his sanity; while also trying to be a good father.

The film is a great examination of bipolar disease; and how mental illness effects family. Ruffalo is exceptional in the lead, and the two young girls are outstanding (as well); especially Wolodarsky, playing Forbes (as a young girl). Forbes' script is clever, and very thoughtful. Her direction is decent, but not anything too memorable. Still, it's a pretty impressive directorial debut.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/b_aLk3J5gh4

This incredible actor is given full reign in a film which capitalizes on his ability to be both sweet and intolerably infantile. I am a fan!

I laughed a lot and I really appreciated insight into the world of bi-polar craziness depicted with an even hand and so much love. It was also a skillful depiction of a chaotic 1970's childhood.

This is the director's first feature film, but she knocked it out of the park. Although I would say that casting Mark Ruffalo as a Boston WASP is improbable, it worked for me. The scenes of his extended family are worth the price of admission alone.

Zoe Saldana makes the move possible as she loves everything about Mark Ruffalo that anyone does. I do not know Mark Ruffalo, but I know that he is smart, good-looking, interesting and an exceptionally warm person. The miracle is that this film-maker can tell the story of a difficult youth without any rancor and with insights which are subtle, heart-breaking and hilarious.

The children in this film give it great authenticity. I vote for them!

This film tells the story of a man with bipolar disorder, who has to take care of two children while having unstable mental state.

I find "Infinitely Polar Bear" a realistic and in depth look into the life of a bipolar man. It shows his over-talkative state, his over- friendly personality and the disorganised home. The interaction between him and his children is touching, especially the fact that they accepted the father's embarrassing behaviour. Even if his behaviour is eccentric, he is portrayed to have the best intentions. The wife's support is also very touching. I find that this film is a positive and supportive portrayal of a man with a serious illness.

Despite being a little too by-the-book and repetitive,"Infinetly Polar Bear" is a pleasing piece of narrative that succeeds thanks to a brilliant portrayal and definition of characters.

As stated above the film isn't that fascinating or riveting of a drama. It hits the same note again and again and does not stray away from it almost anytime. It is generally predictable and the dramatic texture isn't as intense as it wants to be,it kind of hits you very light. Moreover there are situations that are overplayed a little too much in the beginning which gave the movie a hard time at getting started and being believable, yet fortunately it picked up immediately as soon as these couple of scenes ended. So to sum it up, it simply doesn't give the necessary gravitas and intensity (both comedic and dramatic) to the situation for it to be as riveting as a drama as it could have as it could have been and I should add that I think that the cinematography partially contributed to this: it doesn't have enough style or distinction for it to stick out, leaving it in super generic dramatic territory and palette and it has a variety of camera movements that get distracting and aren't integrated well enough in the story. It could have really sparked had their been some distinctive look and approach in my opinion.

Despite all of negatives above, this movie really succeeds in making you care about the characters, sticking with them and ultimately giving you a true emotional link. That is undebatable thanks to very good work from both Saldana and Ruffalo and especially the two girls playing their daughters. But even more than that I believe that in the end it is the script that makes you really care because of how well it defines characters, situations and overall story arch. There maybe not enough originality in storytelling or some non-clarity in the bipolar aspect of the film, but man do the characters stick out and make for a pleasant view and journey, culminating in a finale that got me more than I imagined.