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Actors: Kelly Overton, James Haven, Joe Morton, Diane Venora, Sarah-Jane Potts, Hank Harris
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Breaking Dawn |
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A young woman determined to be a mental health doctor (Kelly Overton) is assigned a patient to study intensively at Cape State Hospital, a gated community for psychotics. Her class professor (Joe Morton) gives her six weeks to document this patient's past and to chart his progress, warning her that failing at this assignment means never beoming a doctor.
She disciplines herself into a spartan routine of studying, sleeping, waking, working out, and dodging all distractions - including the pesky flirtations of an admirer named Ted (Hank Harris) - so that she can focus fully upon the patient, Don Wake. Don (James Haven) has post-traumatic stress disorder. He was found covered in blood next to a young mother's body, but not convicted because, for lack of evidence, the case never went to trial.
At first, he seems unreachable, stuck in stupor and not responding to her icebreaking small talk and jokes. Impatient, she sneakily lessens the doses ordered for his medication. Soon, he erupts. His violent outbursts, poetic verbal ramblings, and frequent cryptic warnings about the coming of "Malachi" stress her so much that she begins to glimpse shadowy figures lurking around her, and to suspect that someone is tampering with her food and drinks, and that seemingly harmless people, like her neighbor, and Ted, might actually be dangerous.
Professor Simon warns her that some psychotics try to manipulate others and alter their perceptions; and that she must maintain control in order not to get lost in her patient's world. But she insists that when Don puts his hands against her temples, it's like he's truly transferring his visions and his pain into her head - visions and pain she cannot dismiss or ignore. The more her patient rants about the loss of innocence, and the need to evade the mysterious Malachi, the more she unravels - especially when the warnings about Malachi begin to come from other people, too. One of them is an elderly Oriental female intruder who otherwise does not speak English.
She begins to consider seriously his pleas that she break him out of the hospital so that he can prove his innocence. Her pity for him at the thought of his impending electro-convulsion therapy tips the scales. So one night, she decides to sneak him away from the hospital - a decision that will utimately lead her to the shocking discovery of Malachi's true identity.
--vjm, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Breaking Dawn |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Brain/Body not working?
- mental illness
Battle with shrink/bum?
- battle with a psychiatrist
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- doctor
Age:
- 20's-30's
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (man) very short/crewcut
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Black
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) very short/crewcut
Body type
- (man) skinny
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
Misc setting
- mental hospital
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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