This is a truly beautiful and tender film. It Portrays three individuals with quite severe mental illnesses, and shows all of us a path to recovery via compassion and a sense of humor. The script is fantastic, and the acting/directing is sublime.Zoe Kravitz and Dev Patel are artists to be admired, but they outdo themselves in this film.

I was absolutely blown away by this movie. I thought it was brilliantly done and is award worthy. Definitely a must see, especially for those suffering from any form of mental illness within their lives.I had never seen any of these actors before but I thought they did an amazing job. I can definitely see how some people could be put off by this movie but you need to have an open mind and an understanding heart to truly appreciate it.I love movies with a parent vs. child struggle and I love it even more when both the parent and child learn a lesson in the end and are able to settle their differences and see eye to eye. You are able to feel for all of the characters and the writing is truly poetic.My favorite part in the movie was how music positively effected the moods of Alex and Vincent. I have heard that music can effect our brainwaves and I found it amazing that this was so comforting for them.The only reason I am not giving it a perfect score is because I wish they had chosen to portray OCD in a manner aside from the "germ phobia." This is the most commonly depicted form of OCD but it is by far the most common. OCD manifests in many different ways and I wish they had chosen to illustrate that more in Alex. But I still think his transformation was brilliantly done.There are definitely some disturbing elements of the movie but I feel that the beauty and growth that the characters experience far outweigh any of their tragedies.

So mental illness is something I struggle with. One of the major ones is OCD. I'm tired of movies and shows portraying OCDers as germaphobes. OCD can be much more complex than that. As well, for tourettes, I don't know anyone who has it, but I got the sense it was being used as comic relief and was slightly exaggerated. As far as the female character goes, not all women with eating disorder are the "rebel type"...I believe the films creators had good intentions though. The level of filmmaking is only mid tier, as they relied on way too many tropes. Tropes I've seen seeing since I was a little feller and watched my second movie. It was also quite predictable.Honestly though, I don't know if someone with mental illness would write a movie like this and I wonder if the screenwriter even has mental illness himself, or just thought it'd be a "touching" story, with the Oscar statue lingering in the back of his mind.Still, it's hard to resist the journey the characters go through and the way they bond over their illnesses. As someone who's been there myself, I know that bond can be very powerful. Social Stigma is still very strong and it's hard to find someone suffering from a debilitating disease that is going to open up to you and be your friend.I also appreciated the use of music in this film. At first, I thought I left my Classical playlist running, but it was just Dev Patel playing Bach while he madly cleaned his room from germs. It snyched pretty well. The other songs were perfect for the scenes as well. Yet this is the only artistic merit I would grant this movie.Stil, I gave it a 7 because overall I think it depicted metal illness sufferers as real, hell even normal, people. It was fast paced, quick and to the point. I enjoyed watching it. Oscar Contender or Indie favorite it is not, it still kept me entertained.

So I just finished watching this film and I would first like to say, if you're looking for an exciting and riveting plot; you've come to the wrong place. However, if you prefer a story with incredibly compelling characters played by incredibly talented actors, than you definitely need to watch this movie. Robert Sheehan, who plays Vincent, does a remarkable job portraying someone with Tourette's without going overboard. Although some of what he says during his ticks are funny, you can tell that they also cause him agony and they is shown through his facial expressions and his tone of voice. Similarly, Dev Patel who plays Alex does another remarkable job of playing someone with OCD (at least in my opinion). Zoe Kravitz's character is both witty and carefree but also intensely tragic. I believe this movie has a good combination of feel good moments and moments where you truly empathize with the characters. Though the concept of a road trip plot is slightly overdone, the landscapes are beautiful and the three young actors have a way of keeping you interested and entertained the entire time. You find yourself wanting to know all of them on an even deeper level which I believe is quite telling of how compelling they are. There were moments that were difficult to watch and made me a bit emotional while there were also scenes where I laughed out loud. It really gives you a perspective on what it is like with a mental illness, especially as a teenager and the complications that they cause. Overall, not a perfect flick but Kravitz, Patel, and Sheehan are definitely worth checking this film out.