Director: Barbara Kopple.
Starring: Mariel Hemingway.
Running Time: 105 minutes.
Synopsis: RUNNING FROM CRAZY follows Academy Award nominee, health guru and granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway as she explores her fears of mental illness and emotional instability. The documentary promises to show Mariel Hemingway’s attempt at getting to the bottom of the depression and suicidal tendencies which have run in her family for generations.
Mariel Hemingway is a longtime supporter of charities that deal with mental instability, raising awareness of suicide and its prevention. However, what’s delivered here is quite a different story, and though certain scenes are truly engaging, the problem is that the scenes barely go together. But this is an OWN film, and with an Oprah Winfrey seal of approval comes the expected nature footage, voiceovers, repetition and heartbreaking displays of emotion.
Shifting from suicide and depressions to facts about the legendary Ernest ‘Papa’ Hemingway, there’s also a childhood molestation story crammed in. Though the majority of the film involves Mariel psychoanalysing herself for 90 minutes, there is a combined tone of self-pity and self-indulgence as she explains how very little her family wanted her and how difficult it was that her mother didn’t love her father – and that they all had drinking problems.
The really fascinating parts lie in the footage taken from another documentary older sister Margaux made in an attempt to understand her grandfather by retracing his steps and interviewing his old friends. Seeing the way Margaux connected to an American national treasure she only knew for five years is delivered in the form of beautifully touching clips which save the film.
It is quite evident early on that Mariel’s focus is set on her childhood and why she’s the only remaining ‘sane’ member of the family. It’s just a shame that she felt the need to disguise that in the form of a documentary educating people about suicide. Mariel enjoys talking about herself and even has the cheek to promote the health business she runs with her partner. For a woman who attempts to bring light to suicide and depression, she has a bizarre idea of what treatment should look like, promoting exercise, clean food and ‘talking about it’, and it’s an insult to her family and anyone suffering from depression to see her convincing herself and others that she’s sane due to her healthy lifestyle.
The words sane and insane are thrown around casually in the movie – the latter how she refers to her sister – without shame or regret. Yet, an aspect of her brutal honesty is appealing, as is her honesty about never truly loving her sister and how at a very early age she realised all was not well with her family and childhood. All in all a documentary that lacks focus, Mariel Hemingway is very much a fascinating figure, both then and now. But it is the mystery of her grandfather, Ernest, and how his legacy still affects generations that make this a compelling story.
THE SUNDANCE LONDON FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL RUNS FROM 25-28 APRIL AT THE O2. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TICKETS VISIT: http://www.sundance-london.com
