A mentally ill person crying out for help (spoilers)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Excision
Espagna — 12 years ago(February 09, 2014 01:04 PM)
I think that is what this film was about, and it was very well done. Everyone in the film dismisses Pauline's behavior as being angst ridden and done out of shock value to annoy others, but in reality the girl really is mentally ill. She has no regard for social norms, and while she is aware on some level that she is different, she still cannot fully comprehend why her behavior is repulsive to others because in her mind nothing is wrong. She is also crying out for help without really knowing it, because again, she really cannot comprehend what exactly is wrong with her. She tells her mother that she is wasting her time by taking her to the priest, but the mother just overlooks this as being teenage rebellion, and it is not until the end that everyone realizes that what she needs is a psychiatrist, not a priest, but by then it was too late.when she heard her mother say it was impossible to love her, Pauline sets out on a mission to gain her acceptance and approval, but she is too delusional to realize that she is in no position to perform a lung transplant. It is not until than that Traci Lords realizes that Pauline is truly mental but also strived for love and acceptance. I also found it interesting that Pauline also screamed out loud when she and her mother hugged. I think that is when she herself also realized how disturbed and delusional she was, and became aware of what a horrible thing she had just done. I really enjoyed this film, there is so much more to it than just being about a dysfunctional teen in a family full of issues. Also, Annalynn was AMAZING and oscar worthy in this, I really hope she gets some meaty roles after this because that girl is talented.
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sul-4 — 12 years ago(February 10, 2014 02:20 PM)
deeply disturbing film. I kept wanting there to be some hint that the surgery was another one of Pauline's delusional dreams.
But your comments prompt a question from me.
Does Pauline get physical affection from either of her parents throughout the film?
She does get some affection from her sister I believe at one point, isn't she leaning on her, or stroking her hair?
If that's the case that she'd never gotten any affection throughout the film,
makes the last scene palatable to me. There's a multitude of reactions, releases, when the mom embraces Pauline.
Pauline's behaviors are increasingly hostile throughout the film, and at various times she's lectured, ignored, forgiven, punished but never hugged. The dad is distant, the mom judgemental.
From a parents POV, teens can seem be monsters that are capable of great evil, as a parent this film plays hard on that. And not just teens, people needing affection from one another will often do exactly the opposite to get it.
Pauline's screaming while embraced by her mom seems to be a combination of terror and a release. This is what she needed after all, did she have to behave like an insane psychopath to get it? -
ragnarofl — 12 years ago(February 15, 2014 07:44 AM)
I think that was just one of the many tragedies and horrific realizations for Pauline, her Mother, and everyone else.
The layers of complexity in this film made me really loved it; that and the performances and the casting of even minor roles. -
blacknyellowsquid — 11 years ago(May 17, 2014 11:16 PM)
Yeah. Was not expecting the movie to be about that, but I agree with you. I went in thinking it was just going to be some kinda intelligentish horror film.
But as it went on, and even as it endedI'mI'm not sure
what
that was lol. A sick, black comedy at timesalso a drama with obvs strong, gross-out horror overtones throughout but, underneath it all, a cautionary tale about unchecked (severe) mental illness.
I've seen other people comparing this to May. I definitely got that earlier on too. That one descended more into horror with how it ends and, to me, May was actually sociopath, albeit a lonely one(she saw people/animals/inanimate objects as all the same, and as disposable once not serving her needs anymore, although her longing for a companion of some sort was legit). So I suppose I was expecting this movie to go that some routePauline would turn more straight up bad and go on a killing rampage to harvest organs/perform surgeries/mess with the bodies or something once pushed too far.
But she really just descended deeper into being mentally ill and her one act of actual destruction in the movie was done out of delusional, warped love for her sister and hope for approval from her mom. So, yeahuhnot expecting that route. I WAS totally expecting her to try to harvest organs for her sister (I'm surprised so many were surprised by that! It seemed fairly obvious)I just wasn't sure who/how she'd go about it and didn't necessarily expect the sister to die. In fact, I WAS creepily surprised at how inept she actually was during the surgeryjust chopping them up so they bled to death, and plopping the lung in thereno science or real skill, preparation, serious precautions involved besides shaving her hair, or any actual clue what she was doing or how the body worked yet she still just went for it as if it'd be a successwell, that was a bit shocking to me It underscored how legitimately disturbed/mentally ill she was. So, yikes. Yeah. What shifted to me was just the toneit got less horror black comedy, and more serious about her descent into mental illness and the mother understanding and trying tragically too late in the game to really make it right. The biggest tragedy in this movie really is the psychiatrist appointment coming too late.
So that shifting in tone throughout, not really knowing what this movie was going for made it uncomfortable because, by the endit wasn't just a gory campy horror comedybut had a serious undertone about unchecked mental illness.
scratches head Hmm I suppose that is why it is disturbing. -
FooserX — 11 years ago(October 06, 2014 12:36 PM)
Good posts all here.
I agree. I wasn't sure what the ending was going to be, but from her dreamsshe was clearly not normal. I loved her character - loved her honesty and social craziness without feeling embarrassed or ashamed.
The signs were there - and then she just flipped out and acted on her delusions.
Great horror movie. Really love fresh movies like this.
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SBL84 — 10 years ago(April 06, 2015 11:55 AM)
She is also crying out for help without really knowing it
She was also ACTUALLY crying out for help, though. Her mother just kept sending her back to the priest and yelling at her for her behavior instead of trying to find out what's actually going on with her. Oh and Cotillion. Forcing her to do that was probably more damaging than not getting her professional mental help.
Before the first visit she says something like "at least have the decency to send me to a real psychiatrist." So while she may have still held back and not tried in therapy, she probably would have had a better chance opening up to a professional who she respected as a medical authority. -
xxstaindrosesxx-1 — 9 years ago(October 17, 2016 07:29 PM)
I feel like there is a lot more to this than what people have even mentioned.
Although her sister is ill, I feel that deep down, Pauline actually envies her a bit. Grace is practically the center of attention, and so on some level, maybe that's why her parents assume that she's lashing out. There were plenty of hints that her parents wanted her to be more like Grace. Her mother told her she should be grateful to have a body that's healthy when she drinks the ipecac. There are just little things there, and because Grace is sick and what not, she receives most of the attention.
Granted, Grace is usually kind to Pauline, but you can see the real craving for attention there, and acceptance, which she only seems to get from her sister. I think that only made her issues worse, because she wanted to do right by her sister because her sister was the only one who cared.
To me, there was also a major flaw with this, but it also could have been intentional. Grace has CF, which means she'd need a lot of medical attention. I'm assuming that the father or whoever probably had some really good health insurance. I know that not all insurances cover mental health, but if they had one that covered so much stuff for Grace, it seems like it would have covered mental health too. Yes, the mother says they are going to break the bank to send her to an actual psychiatrist, but what if they just never did because they didn't want to admit there was something wrong with their daughter?
Sometimes the hardest part about mental illness is that parents or other people won't admit to themselves that something is seriously wrong with a person because they feel ashamed and often blame themselves. I see this very much, especially in the mother. She tries to do things her way, which admittedly is wrong because she doesn't want to admit to herself that there is something seriously wrong until it's too late.