BigCinnamon I came into watching 'I Smile Back' having recently come out of a relationship with a woman suffering from severe depression, both having younger children from previous relationships. I was aware of her depression right from the start and it wasn't an issue as it never manifested, up until the last 5-6 months that is. For the 85 minutes this film played, it was like I was watching my life played out by Josh Charles and my partners by Sarah Silverman. Almost perfectly Adam Salky's adaptation of Amy Koppelman's semi-biographical novel highlights and encapsulates the rigors and devastation depression can have on someone's life and the loved ones around them.As the film goes on and you are rooting for Silverman's character to get it together, get healthy, and be happy; the most common questions that keep reoccurring (as in my own experience) are how much is depression to blame for the erratic behavior, the self-destruction, the poor life choices, the hurting of others? Where does the depression end and the person begin? What should be forgiven and what cannot be? Coming from a position of clear bias and sympathy for the husband, I 100% related to being in that position that he is doing everything he can to help her, he clearly loves her and wants his family to be happy together. Often, love and good intentions are not enough in these scenarios, and decisions need to be made about whether to keep fighting in the hope things get better or to let it go so it doesn't destroy everyone. 'I Smile Back' really balances these questions so there's no clear right answers.I was a little wary initially of Sarah Silverman being in the title role. Even with her previous serious roles I still felt that in your face, over-the-top personality wanting to burst out. Not in this. She nails it, and really makes you feel every emotional high and low. Unlucky not to be recognized by the Academy this year.My only criticism is something which I rarely ever say about movies, is that I wish it was longer. I think the affect and anxiety that his mother's depression had on the eldest boy needed to be explored even more. We only get a very surface level of symptoms and afflictions of the child, and it would have been fascinating to get more on what affect it was having in his and his sister's life. I would have also liked a little more of a POV perspective of the husband and how he handled everything.Overall, a very realistic and relatable projection of a debilitating and devastating condition.

Mar Velez This movie its about a woman with a mental disorder. She takes and needs lithium to keep the balance. Although the name of the disease is never mentioned on it,we might assume, bipolar disorder but it can be others. The movie tells the story of this woman our shows this woman going to several fazes of this disorder, all the struggle to keep the balance, to be a good wife and a good mother. There are some very interesting and true points and about this story, like the felling of being not worthy of her children of her her husband. So far so good. The acting is OK, the story line its a bit to focused on her. What i really have problems with is the ending. You see, i have very dear friends that went to all that, i have friends that take lithium. i have friends that tried to ended it all, some did it, some are still alive and i would never ever give this movie for them to watch. This movie is not just a stiller of hope to people that actually suffer from this diseases, this film almost suggests suicide with the not so much ambiguous end.This movie its irresponsible.

luke-a-mcgowan I Smile Back sits firmly within the territory of "unwatchable" films.Lacking any sense of purpose, I Smile Back lost me about two minutes into the film. Director Adam Salky and editor Tamara Meem have no idea how to construct a film, because I Smile Back has no central story whatsoever. It is just an arrangement of scenes that all involve Sarah Silverman's characters being put through the ringer. It is aided in being the worst film of the year by Paige Dylan and Amy Koppelman's turd of a screenplay, which averages one good line of dialogue per writer. All through this turd's 88 minute run time I was looking at my watch, pleading for the agony to end. Who'd have thought that there was fat in an 88 minute movie, but there are lots of scenes where Laney just walks around on drugs looking vacantly at things.The film only exists to create indie Oscar-bait for comedy actress Silverman. It has every scene that Oscar-baiting tripe has for lead actress pushes. Scene where the female protagonist stares at her naked body in the mirror? Check. Generic anecdotes from father/husband about what that female was like when she was younger? Check. Family drama? Check. Bunch of scenes where she gets nailed by guys (who aren't her husband of course). Check. Drug scene? Check. Near-death experience scene? Check. It only serves to highlight the injustice that big studios get blamed for producing Oscar bait. Small studios can do it too, and frequently do it worse.Each character is lazily written with terrible character decisions. Each "plot point" (to denigrate that phrase in value) passes while the writers and director lazily swat at it in some attempt at cohesive story. It makes no effort to delve into her depression, marriage, drug addiction or father issues, instead preferring to show yet another sex scene with some stupid new twist.Silverman's performance is the only reason I watched this film, and she's serviceable. Nothing to keep my attention and certainly nothing deserving of awards attention. Josh Charles works really hard when he's on screen, and manages to elevate Silverman's sleepwalking role. Oona Laurence, who proved herself extremely worthy in Southpaw, is wasted in a tiny part. I Smile Back is ultimately a less effective version of Rachel Getting Married. Silverman can't light a candle to Hathaway, the film lacks any semblance of cohesion and it is excruciatingly boring. In a year where I'll See You In My Dreams, Spy, Carol, Brooklyn and Grandma are proving to be solid and interesting character studies for strong female characters, its disappointing that I Smile Back is such a spectacular waste of time.

ronthorn3-636-417777 I am a 28 year old male, and this movie touched on a lot of issues I have struggled with in depression, mostly drugs and continuing to be destructive regardless of how much pain it causes. I teared up many times in the movie, Sarah was excellent. If you are looking for a happy movie, this is not it, and if you didn't care about the characters in the movie you obviously have little to no sympathy for people struggling with clinical depression. This was a very realistic observation of how one finds it extremely hard to see through life's struggles, and how some people are just never see the light at the end of the tunnel.