Manic
Director: Jordan Melamed
Year: 2001
Country: USA
Duration: 100 mins
Rating: 15
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Bacall and Zooey Deschanel
More information (external website)
Taking place entirely in a psychiatric ward, the film opens with Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has chosen to accept calm in the wake of being treated for wounds due to a violent outburst from a fight that left another young man in horrible shape. Learning that he will not be taken home by his mother, he is transferred instead to a juvenile lockdown facility and deemed a menace to society. After being sedated during an episode, he wakes up to a room shared by Kenny, a 12-year old child molester. Lyle is put off by his new surroundings and refuses to befriend the other inmates or cooperate with the patient, weary Dr. Monroe. But Lyle soon begins to adapt to his new life, meeting Chad (), a bipolar case with an impending release who lures Lyle into a plan for an escape. Lyle also finds solace in Tracy, a young girl plagued with nightmares and self-mutilation, who finds herself drawn to him as well.