Veronika Decides to Die

5 May 2015. There's not a lot of movies that really reveal the more grim prospect of early death and its impact on human life. Veronika offers another look at residential mental institutions but with a particularly heart wrenching but inspiring look at them. Sandra Bullock offered up 28 Days (2000) with her comedy-drama version of an alcoholic in denial, a mainly mainstream and entertaining look at mental illness. There's a rather quick but powerful look in Helen (2009). Angelina Jolie presented Girl, Interrupted (1999) with strong drama and mainstream popularity.

Yet its with Sarah Michelle Gellar, we find a more biting and bittersweet look at mental health, recovery, and inspiration in her performance as well as the plot outline that offers a more refined tone and a less glossy look at mental health. This intriguing movie turns not on its dramatics, but on the more subtle theme of mental illness and simple yet layered efforts at human interaction and mental growth.

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.

This is a story about a suicidal girl. At first I was enjoying it because I could relate to it. Veronika is institutionalized for wanting to commit suicide. Inside she rebels and tries to reject everyone around her. She plays the piano and this attracts a resident that is usually very solitary. With her music, she seems to reach something inside of him that might help bring him out of his shell. By feeling needed by someone else, we can all see value in our own lives and we can stop living for what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do for others and we can start to see our value and maybe what some of our talents are capable of. Veronika seems to come to these realizations as she explores reaching out to this male resident.

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")

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.