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REVIEW: No Man of God [2021]

2021/08/232021/08/24 Jared Mobarak

This is purely academic. What separates Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood) from Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby)? Ask a lot of people and they’ll say mental stability. But isn’t that just a cop-out? Isn’t that absolving serial rapists and murderers of their actions because they “couldn’t help themselves?” The real answer skews less towards compulsion than it does abstention. We’ve all thought about hurting people we don’t like, but that’s where our rage ends. We punch pillows, scream in the shower, and tailgate transgressors until our desire for vengeance is satisfied. Bundy…

REVIEW: Touched With Fire [2016]

2016/02/152016/02/16 Jared Mobarak

“Meet me on the other side” Depicting mental illness in film is hard for two reasons. One is the fact that actors are playacting. This may not be the case across the board—performances could be inferred from personal experience—but I’d say a majority comes from a place of research and mimicry. The second reason deals with audiences having preconceived notions about mental illness that are generally misguided. It’s difficult to show someone an honest portrayal when they don’t believe it’s honest. Perhaps filmmakers shouldn’t care about this subsection of viewers…

VIFF11 REVIEW: Take This Waltz [2012]

2011/10/062014/05/22 Jared Mobarak

“August 15, 2040, 2pm” Films dealing with break-ups have the trouble of easily falling into two camps. Either the work is genuine and emotionally devastating like a Blue Valentine or faux romantic and absolutely trite like The Break-Up. Having already wowed the world with her debut feature of complete authenticity dealing with Alzheimer’s destructive power on love, Away From Her, I hoped Sarah Polley had her finger on the pulse of heartache and would carry it through to her sophomore work, Take This Waltz. Unfortunately, although it is brilliantly acted…