Broken Mind

Author(s): Chris Moffit
Location: North Carolina

“Broken Mind”

Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Written by Zach Braff & Michael Arndt
Genre: Comedy

Principal Cast:

Charlie Mitchell- Zach Braff
Martin Mitchell- Peter Saarsgard
Nancy Mitchell- Angelica Houston
Jenna Harker- Amy Adams
Carol Stromber- Toni Collette
Frank Stromber- Aaron Eckhart
Stephen Mitchell- Tom Wilkinson
Anna Calvez- Salma Hayek
Tom Doyle- Greg Kinnear

Tagline: “Even when the mind is broken, the heart still beats”

Synopsis: Charlie Mitchell is depressed. He was a smart and happy college student until his English professor, Tom Doyle, gave him an F on his paper. He snapped and tried to burn down Doyle’s car but was arrested and discovered to be clinically depressed. He was sentenced to five years in a mental institution where he met Dr. Jenna Harker. Jenna believed that Charlie’s depression was not caused by the failing grade and believed that there was a deeper root to the problem. Jenna decides to take Charlie back to his family’s home so that she can see his normal routine and his family.

Charlie lives with his sister, Carol, her husband, Frank, and the matriarch of the Mitchell family, Nancy. Carol is a devoted housewife who takes care of her mother all day long. Frank is an obnoxious stockbroker who is hardly home and spends the time he has at home arguing with the aging Nancy. Charlie’s brother, Martin, visits the family home on a daily basis and is a gun-toting, NRA member who comes to tell his liberal mother stories of deer that he has shot on hunting trips. Jenna begins to understand how the stressful environment of the Mitchell family home could cause Charlie to be depressed but she has yet to pinpoint an exact source. However as she begins to talk more and more with Charlie, she begins to fall in love with his charm and wit.

Jenna eventually discovers that the family refuses to talk about the last member of the family, Dad. Jenna discovers that he is not dead like Nancy says but he is in fact alive. He left the family for a woman he met in Mexico and took almost all of the family’s money. Charlie tells Jenna that he learned about his father’s indiscretions and that was why he was depressed. Jenna took Charlie to visit his father in Mexico, but his father, Stephen had no apology and said that he did not care about the family anymore and had his own family now. Charlie who was coming out of his depression snapped after the meeting with his father and one night tried to kill himself. Jenna was forced to commit Charlie back to the psychiatric hospital and she could longer be his doctor because she loved him and could not see him as a broken mind.

What the press would say:

Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton continue to show that they are great at creating family dramedies. The performances in this film shine strongly with Amy Adams’ heartbreaking, but funny performance as the psychiatrist in love with her patient being the best of them all. Zach Braff shows emotion in his face and eyes while maintaining his comic wit and sharp one-liners. The laughter comes strongest though in the conflicts between Angelica Houston’s Nancy, Aaron Eckhart’s Frank and Peter Saarsgard’s Martin, three characters that are confrontational, angry, stubborn and extremely funny. Toni Collette continues to deliver a great line of fine performances with her character being the most sympathetic and kind character, Carol, the simple housewife. The script is witty and funny as well as devastating and revelatory all at the same time. This is an amazing film that will be one of the few comedies to catch Oscar’s eye.

Best Picture
Best Director- Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton
Best Original Screenplay- Zach Braff & Michael Arndt
Best Actor- Zach Braff
Best Actress- Amy Adams
Best Supporting Actress- Toni Collette
Best Supporting Actress- Angelica Houston
Best Supporting Actor- Peter Saarsgard
Best Film Editing