Mr. Jones (1993)

Mr. Jones: Directed by Mike Figgis. With Richard Gere, Lena Olin, Anne Bancroft, Tom Irwin. After being arrested during a manic episode, a man who suffers from bipolar disorder is treated by a psychiatrist who begins to develop romantic feelings towards him.

“I donu0026#39;t know very much about bipolar depression, aside from reading biographies of Robert Lowell, the poet. I have to say though that Richard Gere is outstanding in this movie. It started showing on ITV2 and his performance drew me into the story- I had to watch it to the end.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a brave premise for a Hollywood film but u0026quot;Mr. Jonesu0026quot; is let down by a flawed script. I was offended by the way the doctor was portrayed. Of course she was played by a stunning actress, of course she became attached to her patient- to the point of invading his privacy by looking up his friends from his time at music college twenty years earlier. Oh, and of course (SPOILER- in more ways than one) she slept with him as well. She offers to resign which keeps her from being professionally ruined – sorry, but I canu0026#39;t see a qualified and experienced psychiatrist falling in love with her patient, let along sleeping with him while heu0026#39;s still under treatment. The ending peters out as well- to suggest that they will become a couple, I suppose.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe hospital scenes are strong and moving, as is the the subplot about the young student. This could have been an interesting study of people in emotional distress. Too bad they couldnu0026#39;t match Mr. Jones with unsentimental and uncompromising portraits of those trying to help him.”