James White

I have worked in health care for almost 18 years. I know, that is a long time. But you know what ? I would not have changed my profession for anything. Well, ok, i would have liked to be Sandra Bullock´s hair dresser, but you can always have dreams. All the people i have met, with different diagnoses, mentally ill, or handicapped in many different ways, have taught me a lot. Most of all, i learned that you have to live life. And i try to, and i still enjoy helping handicapped people, just as much as i did when i started in health care. Unfortunately a lot of people do not get the respect they deserve. Just because they may be diagnosed with a difficult illness, does not mean they don´t understand you.They might actually be smarter than yourself, so never judge anyone by their looks. Every patient is important, and you have to treat them equally good. When it comes to people with different diagnoses, in motion pictures, we have a lot of classics to choose between. One of the absolute best films, is of course called One Flew Over The Cukoo´s Nest. Jack Nicholson as one of the patients in a mental institution. I have seen this film more than 10 times, but it is still a masterpiece, and also showed what a brilliant director Milos Forman is. Rain Man is also a classic, with Dustin Hoffman doing a wonderful performance as the autistic man Raymond Babbitt. In more recent years, there is one film that i hope most people have seen. Still Alice, a film about a woman, who is diagnosed with alzheimer´s disease, played really well by Julianne Moore. It may not have been a big box office hit, but this is one of those films you will remember. The way that Julianne Moore portrayed a woman with alzhemier´s , is simply outstanding. She capture some of the most important facial expressions, like there is no soul there, just a glimpse of a human spirit. Since i work in health care, i am very interested to see stories, about people, how they struggle to stay strong, even though they have different diagnoses. About 7 months ago, i heard about the film James White. through the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The critics were really positive about the film, and the word kept going worldwide. I happened to see this film very late, not until i picked it up on dvd here in Sweden, so i just had to see if it would be as good as the rumor was. Do we finally have another great independent film in our hands, or is this a film that could have been better ?

James White ( Christoper Abbott ) is an ordinary man, dealing with a lot of personal issues. Most of all, he is always worried about his cancer sick mother Gail White ( Cynthia Nixon ). James tries to escape, travelling to a warmer location, where he meets Jayne ( Makenzie Leigh ). They spend a lot of time together, and are enjoying their lives. Until James gets a phone call, his mother is getting worse. James flies back to help her, even if he is struggling with his own personal problems. James best friend Nick ( Scott Mescudi ) tries to be there for him, and his mother. But James is having a hard time controlling his feelings. How long can he struggle with his inner demons, and still help his mother ?

I usually don´t become emotional in films, it will have to be for a specific reason. In the film James White, you will feel emotional, since the performances are so strong. Especially from cancer sick Gail White, played really powerful by Cynthia Nixon. When you see her pain, struggling to keep alive, and show it with emotions and body language, you understand how hard she tried to show us how a cancer patient could look like. Since i have lost close family members in cancer, i could not help being emotional, especially when you lost someone close in you life. James White may be a film mostly about how you deal with a family member who is sick in cancer, but it is also a film that tries to show how you deal with the situation, especially when it is one of your parents. How much can we take, before we eventually break down ? There are a lot of issues here, both from the patient perspective, but also from the family issues. Director Josh Mond, directed the very good thriller drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, a film that gave us an interesting look at a young woman, suffering from paranoia. James White is a completely different film, and i have to say i really appreciate what director Josh Mond did with this film. It is not a typical chliché drama, where everyone is living the perfect american life. This film shows from an ordinary family, how hard it is to deal with someone close diagnosed with cancer. The tone is raw, and still very detailed throughout the storyline. Lead actor Christopher Abbott makes a very powerful performance, as the son who will do anything to help his mother. The pain he feels, can be seen in his anger, frustration, since he feels no one is doing what they should be doing. Most of all, i have to say actor Cynthia Nixon does her best performance in her career so far. How she managed to pull this off so effective, surprised me a lot. She have done great performances in other films, but this film shows that she should be offered more film projects. There are a lot of great independent films released every year, and James White is a film that should have been seen by a larger audience. I suggest you go down and rent it on dvd, or online, as long as you see it. Powerful films with important issues are very important in these days, and James White is clearly one of them. 

Rating: DDDD

For those of you who live in Scandinavia, you can check out the release of James White at Njutafilms, avaible to buy at different dvd stores.

http://www.njutafilms.com/james-white/