Pysche Paper - Benny and Joon and Shutter Island

The synopsis and trailers of Benny and Joon and Shutter Island were not very forthcoming. Both descriptions gave false ideas; they did not go into detail about the psychological state of the main characters. The trailer for Benny and Joon gave the impression that Joon was autistic, and Benny was forced to take care of his ill sister. While the marketing team for Shutter Island gave the movie a typical thriller façade. Both movies required deep thought and quick thinking to figure out that the main characters roles are about their mental state and not their physical actions.

Roger Ebert in his review of Benny and Joon described it as "a film that approaches its subjects so gingerly it almost seems afraid to them." (Ebert online) This is true especially when it comes to the main character Joon who though it is not said, it can be deduced that she is schizophrenic. I was clued into this after reading an article about schizophrenia where the symptoms for disorganized schizophrenia were child like behavior, showing barely an emotion, and problems thinking an expression thoughts clearly (PubMed online). These were all behavior that Joon exhibited throughout the movie.

If it wasn't for a scene where her brother Benny is visiting her shrink it would be hard to tell that Joon is mentally ill. Her behavior was child like and usually consisted of fits of anger which could easily be a tantrum. This theory was enforced further by the fact that her brother continued to treat her like a child. He hired babysitters, and often took her everywhere he went. His whole life was revolved around his sister. He turned down dates and halted budding relationships all because of Joon. Personally I thought his role was parental. He was very selfless by giving up his whole life to watch his sister. When the doctor in the movie suggested that he put Joon in a group home, Benny strongly protested even though it would have freed him from his babysitting responsibilities. Many people in his situation would have gladly put her in a group home, and visited her regularly. This can be compared to families with autistic children. Some families shun these kids because of their disabilities, shamed by the fact that they have an abnormal child, while other parents embrace these children. Those parent read up on their children's' condition and attend fundraising events to raise awareness and money for a cure. Benny's behavior was like the latter.

The psychological explanation in Benny and Joon was devoid. From the start of the movie, the audience was told that Joon had a mental condition, though not what it was. So of course most of the focus was on Joon, to me the movie had no point, and lacked a plot. It didn't seem to have any direction or flow and many movie reviewers agreed because many rated the movie three stars or less. The only interesting and original character in the movie was Sam, played by Johnny Depp. Sam gave the impressions of having a childlike mentality but every once in a while it would prove to the audience that he was an adult.

Johhny Depp's character didn't seem to take anything seriously. He clicked strongly with Joon because they both had childish mentality. Benny seemed to be a parent to both. Sam also didn't show a lot of emotion. He just seemed to float on through life. His actions though spoke for his lack of words. During the movie he risked personal danger so that he may see Joon. This shows love and caring on his part, though he did not say it. Sam also didn't seem to notice that Joon was sick. He treated her like an equal in his own ways, never ordering her to do something like Benny would. I think this played an important part in why Joon feel in love with Sam. The fact that to him, she was a regular girl. He didn't treat her like she was crazy and someone to be avoided. This allowed her to open up to him in ways that she couldn't with Benny, who would just judge her. Thus leading her to trust him and eventually fall in love.

The climax of the movie seemed to be when Joon and Sam fell in love. This could have easily been guessed; since they were both outcasts and they lived in the same house. It was after this admission of love that Joon psychological problem was given attention. It was during the bus scene where Sam and Joon decided to run away to be together where Joon starts to tap the handle erratically. She then starts to scream, her behavior similar to an autistic child. From Sam's face it is obvious that he is freaked out. It then begins to dawn on him that Joon really is sick, and he cannot possible take care of her on his own. Her behavior is strange to me, because this is the first time in the movie where Joon's condition is actually showed instead of talked about. Throughout the movie she was fine though a little stubborn. I thought that her breakdown was due to the fact of an unfamiliar environment. From the little information given, I gathered that Joon had been in the care of her brother since the death of her parents; and though she liked the idea of being on her own with Sam her mental state did not. The strange noises were not something she was used to. This was evident during a scene in the movie where Sam was playing loud music as she cleaned and she came inside from her garden and screamed at him. Screaming seemed to be the

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