nammage
It's a quiet slow moving film; which to me: is not a minus. The character Em is bipolar, medication doesn't help her; she seems to be immune to their effects, and she struggles with her illness on a daily basis. While the film is called "em" the film is not actually centered on her, it's centered on the man that just comes into her life, and how he's able not only to deal with her illness but also in recognizing she's actually ill. I thought some of fhe sexual scenes in the beginning was a bit unnecessary. Story-wise it doesn't actually add anything. Yeah, they're in a new relationship, and they're falling in love with each other (him faster than her) but other than to show nudity, what was the overall point? Maybe I'm getting old. Those are basically the only critiques I have of the film; otherwise, I enjoyed it. Nice quiet movie.
bjarias
..it gives some idea of the film, that there are only ten IMDb written user reviews in total, and the last one is four years old.. hardly anyone's heard of Em, and assuredly less have actually seen it... but it had won accolades and awards at several film festivals.. and yet this is one of the best little films dealing with romance, heartbreak, and mental illness that you will be fortunate to come across.. and she is one of the best young actors that you will discover.. and yet according to IMDb she has only four productions to her credit.. {and with eight years on twitter only 169 followers).. it is unfathomable that it is only this one film production of hers having merit, and it's been her last major work since.. what happened to her.. that could be a story-line for a screenplay in itself..
lizardleaping4
This movie failed on many levels. Mostly, it was utterly humorless and it lacked any intelligence. The actress, Stef Willen, was strangely masculine and seemed more creepy than mentally ill. She was unlovable with her wacky hats and phony expressions,and it made no sense that he male lead would tolerate her. There was no exploration of mania other than she likes to sky dive or buy one way tickets. Absurd. The sex scenes were gratuitous and yucky. Why an aspiring actress would so degrade herself for this lousy film is sad. I hope never to see Stef Willen's bad acting and annoying face in any other film. This was a missed opportunity. A waste of time.
mariposa94
This view is a spot on yet tender depiction of mental illness and its' ravages on a loving relationship. This is also a perfectly paced sad sweet love story that beautifully encapsulates the relationship in all its phases: discovery disappointment anguish and acceptance. I loved the way the film captured the city landscape as well as the interior landscape of the extremity of moods and the dashing of expectations that are part and parcel of bi-polar disorder. There are no cartoonish depictions, no sensationalism or oversimplification of the often misrepresented and constantly misunderstood realities of mental illness. It is also a visually gorgeous film saturated with color and a profundity of powerful images.