German screenwriter and director Sandra Nettelbeck's third feature film which she wrote, is inspired by an article in the New Yorker magazine called "The Anatomy Of Melancholia" from 1998 by American writer Andrew Solomon. It premiered at the 25th Sundance Film Festival in 2009, was shot on location in Canada and is a Canada-USA-UK-Germany co-production which was produced by producers Christine Haebler and Judy Tossell. It tells the story about a professor named Helen Leonard who's life with her husband David and daughter Julie alters after she has a seizure. Helen is somewhat improved after meeting a doctor and befriending a woman named Mathilda who has been struggling with manic depression for several years, but as her kinship with Mathilda grows she becomes estranged from her family.Finely and engagingly directed by German filmmaker Sandra Nettelbeck, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws a humane and heartrending portrayal of a successful woman who becomes unrecognizable to her family after falling into a severe depression. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions and fine production design by production designer Linda Del Rosario, this dialog-driven and tangible story depicts a mindful study of character and contains a great score by composer Tim Despic.This unsentimental psychological drama about mental illness and how it affects a 40-year-old woman's life, her personality and her family, is set in Canada and is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, compassionate characters and the fine acting performances by American actress Ashley Judd, Canadian actress Lauren Lee Smith, Croatian actor Goran Visnjic and Canadian actress Alexia Fast. An involving, empathic and significant love-story which carefully examines it's central theme and overcomes becoming overly melancholic.

I saw this film yesterday evening on TV and I must say it is very beautiful and painful at the same time. You must be in the mood for this kind of film. Acting is excellent by all of the actors, but Ashley is simply brilliant – she could easily be nominated for Oscar. It is not an everyday story and topic is very hard and demanding, but directing and the tempo of the film is perfect, so you can easily follow the story and feel the pain of all the participants in the story. Goran Visnjic and Lauren Lee Smith both gave one of there best performances by my standards. I recommend this film to all the real movie fans who can appreciate the story and acting without a bunch of special effects.

Having worked in the mental health field for many years I can tell you this film does an outstanding job both in script, directing and acting with portraying a woman with major depression and suicidality. The performances by Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic and Lauren Lee Smith (also Alexia Fast) were at least Oscar noteworthy. Why has this film not gotten more attention? And I am surprised by the rather mediocre vote average on this website. Most likely because it is portraying DEPRESSION and BIPOLAR DISORDER in all their worst forms and that isn't easy to watch. It isn't easy to live with nor is it easy to watch the deterioration of people you love. Ashley Judd does an outstanding job playing Helen, a twice married woman and mother of a teenager daughter who suffers a relapse of her Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Goran plays her lawyer husband who has no knowledge of her previous psychiatric experiences and must watch his wife sink into the abyss. What I didn't understand were the reactions of Helen's students at the college. They wouldn't have known what was affecting her, it could be cancer so would they have walked out? I think someone would have inquired on her medical condition. Also you cannot terminate someone with a medical problem or can you?Mental Illness is a subject we don't discuss but with the prognosis that in 10 years it will be the number one common health problem in the world and is the leading cause of disability with Bipolar Disorder are number 6th as leading cause of disability and then you have ADHD, Autism and the Pervasisve Developmental Disorders which affect 1 in 110 children, then you see the responsibility and need for film makers to make these films. *********SPOILER************** Also portrayed in this film is Ashley Judd's character Helen getting treatment called Electo Convulsive Shock Therapy which is a very real treatment and performed in local hospitals all over the world. What the movie doesn't show and is the really ugly side of Major Depression are those young men and women who chronically try to commit suicide in various ways. I had a patient whose wrists were so heavily scarred from slicing it made me wince to look at them and she could take a light bulb or a jar of cosmetics and break it in a second to slash.

First Of All I Must Say Ashley Judd Is Superb, Playing As A Disturbed Woman. The Other Cast Is Doing A Good Job Either. This Movie Is Very Dark And Grim, And Dvid Darling's Music Really Suits The Atmosphere. The All Movie Really HAs The Look And Sound Of One Of Those European Dark Atmosphere ECM Records, So You Hardly Believe This Is American Movie, It Looks Like It Is One Of Those Heavy Scandinavian Movies, Whith American Actors. There Is A Lot Of Suspense In This Movie And Gllomy Atmospher. The Story Itself Might Not Be Suitable For Many People, Since It Deals With Subject Most People Don't Like to Face Or To Know About, But For Those Who Would Like To See, It Will definitely Hold Them Until The Last Moment. In Total Very Good Movie For Those Who Would Want To See It, And Know Ahead About What This Movie Is All About.