Mad Love – Volle Leidenschaft (1995)

Mad Love – Volle Leidenschaft: Directed by Antonia Bird. With Chris O’Donnell, Drew Barrymore, Matthew Lillard, Richard Chaim. The wild and sexy story of two passionate young people who take to the road for the incredible adventure of their lives.

“This is a love story, of sorts, which conflicts the viewer in that it tenderly presents this tragic heroine and then shocks the audience by eloquently demonstrating the ins and outs of the moderate-to-severe bi-polar disorder, with which the heroine attempts to live. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(The mother states her daughter suffers from depression, but Drewu0026#39;s depiction does NOT indicate depression alone. There are extreme highs and bottom-dipping lows, which would be more indicative of manic depression or bi-polar disorder than depression alone. Not to minimize the life-changing effects of clinical or chemical depression, because Iu0026#39;m not.) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDrew generates a stellar performance here, and fully sells the range of emotions her character experiences. Her portrayal is dead on perfect; in not just the disease itself, but her depth and range here is nothing short of phenomenal.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eChris Ou0026#39;Donnell is not as lacking as some would make one believe. He contributes an adequate performance as a young man without a clue; therefore, his character is vastly disliked because he comes off as clueless, and movie-goers associated him with the character. Go figure.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis work is seriously underrated, primarily due to the unsatisfactorily heart-wrenching ending, but also due to the audiences inability to conceive of Drew as anything but bubbly and intelligent. She customarily takes parts in which her character is put in a sweet (if rose-colored) light, whereas her role herein is quite edgy and tragic. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe screenplay itself is not solid. The flux is very fluid within this story. The only solid thing here are the performances by Drew and Chris, and the profound sadness and sense of loss experienced by its viewers via the execution of the story line.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI actually enjoyed this, though the ending IS unsettling and fails to satisfy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt rates an 8.4/10 from…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ethe Fiend :.”