ABOUT the film: Matchstick Men is a 2003 drama in which Nicolas Cage plays a con artist who suffers from several mental disorders, including OCD. The film received positive reviews but no Oscar nominations, but then found success on home video and garnered a cult following.
WATCH the film: Available on home video for purchase and rental online and through local video stores.
DISCUSS the film: After you watch the film, return here to join in the discussion at the bottom of this page.
REVIEW by Julie: Roy is a twitchy obsessive-compulsive, falling apart probably through guilt induced by his exploitative activities. His OCD was so bad that he had a hard time leaving his apartment. His particular compulsions involved cleaning and ordering. As the movie went on and Roy connected with his daughter, the OCD seemed to recede. Although the film steers clear of trivializing OCD, the film does take on an almost comedic tone while portraying Roy's character.
Nicholas Cage did a fairly convincing portrayal of a 'classic' OCD sufferer - the counting, rituals, hand washing, excessive cleanliness etc. He seemed to me to recover rather too quickly from his compulsions - although he did receive medication. He seemed to me to give in much too easily to the invasion and 'contamination' of his house when his daughter arrived - you would have expected much more anguish and cleaning rituals.
Although the OCD does feature throughout the film, you tend to forget about it, as Cage's character also seems to forget about it apart from the odd scene. Overall the film does an average job of portraying OCD. It is one that is a good watch as long as you remember it is meant to have that comedic element when featuring OCD.
DISCUSS the film (in comments section below):
WATCH the film: Available on home video for purchase and rental online and through local video stores.
DISCUSS the film: After you watch the film, return here to join in the discussion at the bottom of this page.
REVIEW by Julie: Roy is a twitchy obsessive-compulsive, falling apart probably through guilt induced by his exploitative activities. His OCD was so bad that he had a hard time leaving his apartment. His particular compulsions involved cleaning and ordering. As the movie went on and Roy connected with his daughter, the OCD seemed to recede. Although the film steers clear of trivializing OCD, the film does take on an almost comedic tone while portraying Roy's character.
Nicholas Cage did a fairly convincing portrayal of a 'classic' OCD sufferer - the counting, rituals, hand washing, excessive cleanliness etc. He seemed to me to recover rather too quickly from his compulsions - although he did receive medication. He seemed to me to give in much too easily to the invasion and 'contamination' of his house when his daughter arrived - you would have expected much more anguish and cleaning rituals.
Although the OCD does feature throughout the film, you tend to forget about it, as Cage's character also seems to forget about it apart from the odd scene. Overall the film does an average job of portraying OCD. It is one that is a good watch as long as you remember it is meant to have that comedic element when featuring OCD.
DISCUSS the film (in comments section below):
- Does being responsible for another human being motivate someone to get help for their OCD?
- How important is medication as opposed to other factors in recovery from OCD? (Research shows that both medication and exposure and response prevention therapies are helpful for OCD and the combination is most helpful for most people.) Do you think medication can have a placebo effect in some people?
- What part do morals and morality play in OCD?
- How accurately do you think OCD is portrayed in the film?
Film, uniquely of all art forms, combines virtually every other art form into this one thing. Like visual arts, performance arts and music. Everything mixes and combines into this accessible space.
ReplyDelete