Good start, but then it gets ruined

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Rather extraordinary, unexpectedly rich documentary of Evan Perry, a peculiar, bipolar young boy from a prosperous New York home who harbored a fascination with death at an early age, eventually committing suicide in 2005 at age 15 by jumping from a window in his apartment building. As directed by his mother Dana Perry, with photography by father Hart Perry, this film would seem to be an unrelieved downer from the outset (beginning with home movies from "a happier time", leading into interviews from understandably shaken relatives). But, as the material is vividly laid out, we learn a great deal more about this strange kid other than his preoccupation with dying (we pretty much watch him grow up through photographs and video footage, starting with Evan post-birth in the hospital room). The child's family and teachers--and one amusingly looped, exasperated psychiatrist straight out of a Paul Mazursky comedy--recount their dealings with Evan in succinct fashion, and there's even a surprising highlight: a grade school play about death, written by Evan, which features better acting by the students than what we get in most television shows. A deeply-felt journey, moving and thoughtful, and yet with a tough core. *** from ****

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Though I saw it last year, I still can't get it out of my mind. It shows the hardships of dealing with a child with a mental disorder, yet shows it in such a way that you are left going "Wow, that was absolutely beautiful" instead of rolling your eyes. I rarely cry during a film, but this did it for me. Like others said, it did provide more than just the parent's and the family's points of view, because when someone takes their own life, it does affect everyone around them and not just immediate family. I liked how the director, Evan's mother, went into detail with the possible cause of his obsession with suicide (his uncle's own self-inflicted fate), the whole documentary was very real and down to earth. It did leave you with many emotions. For me, the first was grief. Grief because I felt like I had gotten to know this boy over the 92 moments I had been watching his life, his childhood. Then I felt frustration. Frustration for how this boy was getting all of this medical and mental help without getting better. Lastly, there was anger. I immediately blamed his physicians for his death. Doctors and therapists who have dealt with depression victims before should know the signs of thoughts of suicide. When he asked to be taken off the Lithium, they should have been suspicious, not just give him the o.k. But those are my personal views, and this is about the film. I can say that I doubt I'll ever be so moved by a documentary again, this piece of work will make you hug whoever else may be in the room and tell them you love them.

Heart wrenching film very well done by parents who have lived through THE WORST thing that could happen From the surface this child could not have had a better life. Well off, attentive parents, and had all the advantages. Yet he could not get past the darkness inside him. So chilling that he manifested these behaviors at such an early age.To the commentator who was critical of the psychiatrist....you cant assume all bi-polar people have the same experience. Im glad you know some who have managed to lead normal lives and respond to medication and therapy. but I personally know of two bipolar people, early 30s, both highly educated, who are unable to function as independent adults because of bipolar disorder. They have both had solid access to medical attention. I think sometimes the disorder is just too heavy. I think also there are personality traits outside the bipolar disorder that are specific to some individuals which exaggerate or enhance the challenges.

"To be or not to be, that is the question"This is one line from literature most everyone has heard but, because it is such a commonplace line, most people have not actually thought about the meaning behind the line.It's about a guy considering suicide.While the suicide contemplation scene from Hamlet may be dramatic gold for an actor, what do you do with someone who says numerous times, in real life, that they are going to kill themselves? What do you do if that person is your five year old son?That is the particular dilemma facing the Perry family in the fascinating documentary Boy Interrupted because they had a child who began suicidal ideation at age five and continued until he was 15 when he actually killed himself by jumping out of a window in his New York apartment building.Now, I have not given away anything important here, we learn all this before the first reel change and the entire rest of the film is made up of massive amounts of home video, photographs, vacation film etc. We literally follow Evan Perry from the day he was born (his birth was videotaped) to some video of him in a restaurant only a couple of days before his suicide.It's an extraordinary record of a life. Evan's parents were filmmakers so they had the talent, the equipment and the inclination to record Evan's life even when it must have been fairly unbearable to do so.Evan's mother (also the film's director), Dana Perry actually says she began filming her son's morbid moments for no other reason than she didn't think anyone would believe her if she told them that the seemingly cheerful young Evan was obsessed by death and suicide, because that is not what you expect to hear from kindergärtners.Boy Interrupted also contains numerous post-suicide interviews with family, friends, various doctors and counselors who all knew Evan and while they are all very saddened by his untimely death, none of them seemed particularly surprised that it happened.When Evan's psychiatrist describes him as "the scariest kid I have ever met", that should make you sit up and take notice. And that is what makes Boy Interrupted so gripping, intense and ultimately so heartbreaking – people did take notice.Boy Interrupted is not a story about a boy ignored. From early on Evan's parents sent him to doctors, got him analyzed, committed him to asylums if needed; at one point, while at a Connecticut school called Wellspring, Evan actually begins to mellow out and grow up a bit.Evan is diagnosed a Bipolar II (Depressive) with suicidal ideation, but starting with Prozac, moving on to Depakote (I take that myself) and finally onto lithium, Evan's parents seemed willing to do everything medically or therapeutically indicated to help their son. I don't even want to contemplate what their medical bills were like.But the psychiatric treatment of Evan was not a case of too little, too late, in fact, there is nobody in the film who ever says they wished that they had done anything differently. They all did everything they could do, did it properly and it still didn't stop Evan from killing himself.It's important to remember, doctors are not miracle workers. Evan's psychiatrist makes the analogy that Bipolar Depression is the psychiatric equivalent of various cancers; you can treat it for a while and some people will go into remission, some will not, but ultimately you have to stay on top of it at all times or it will kill you.Unfortunately, Evan Perry couldn't see that and appeared to just get tired of dealing with his disease. So, on one ordinary night in October 2005, he jumped out the window of his bedroom falling to his death into the trash filled alley below. An ignominious end to such a handsome, intelligent and talented youth.Despite the very sad theme, I didn't find myself moved to tears all that much during the film. This is because the director Dana Perry presents the story in a very matter of fact way. I don't envy her task of having had to sort through all the accumulated footage and then shape this recorded video into some kind of narrative.Having made films myself, I know you have to be brutal in the editing room and cut out everything that doesn't contribute to the points you are tying to make. That can be difficult for any director, but when the subject matter is your own son? That is not a job I would wish on my worst enemy.Tell a lie, I did cry at one point and that was when they interviewed some of Evan's schoolmates who are all now young men in their late teens. Dropping all teenage swagger and pretense, they speak more openly and honestly about their lost friend than most teenagers would ever do in private, let alone admit on camera. Seeing the real hurt they feel when Evan said in his suicide note that he had "no friends" was heartbreaking.Boy Interrupted is a heart felt and honest account of one family going through one of the hardest things any parent should ever have to go through and they have chosen to make their story public. Despite the fact their son did kill himself in spite of all the support he had, I did not get a sense of futility from watching Boy Interrupted.What I did get was that you should take every threat of suicide seriously, especially if it comes from a teen.Finally, it was one of Evan's final wishes to be totally forgotten, well Evan; this just proves you can't always get what you want, either in life or death. Too bad you're not still around to appreciate that grand joke on us all.