raymond-15 Review of David and Lisa

David and Lisa (1998 TV Movie)

It's the quality of the acting and direction that shines!

[3 January 2000]

This is a film that haunts you for hours, even days, after the credits roll. The story is simple enough, It's about a distraught mother who boards her son David (Lukas Haas) in a psychiatric school for observation under the care of a top psychiatrist (Sidney Poitier), His problem is undiagnosed and all previous treatments have proved futile. At the school he lives very much as a recluse and has an abiding fear that he may die if anyone as much as touches him. This phobia does not prevent him from keeping pace with the latest medical literature. He also has an obsession with clocks and that time is all important. Lukas Haas's portrayal of the mentally sick David is great to watch, really compelling acting- the furtive eye movements, the frightened glances, the rebellious moods, the shambling walk - he is a totally believable psychiatric case. Balancing David's explosive outbursts, we have the cool, calm, unruffled doctor making every attempt to get through to the young patient, but never forcibly, never over-stepping the mark. There are a number of scenes that really excite me. An outburst of anger by David who is crazed with the idea that "time" is uncontrollable, unstoppable. Another crazy outburst about medicos who use medical jargon to show off their superiority. In another scene David tells of his recurring dream where he executes those who oppose him with a large (razor-sharp) hand of an enormous clock. "Perhaps you'll be next" he says to the doctor. The doctor's gentle but persuasive manner finally plants in David's mind the seed of a thought that people who have feelings may be more important than clocks which have none. Into the picture come Lisa (Brittany Murphy) a rather pretty young psychiatric patient who speaks only in rhyming words and sentences, such as "Hello...Kid-o" and "Look at me! What do you see?" David admits he is interested in her merely as a case study, but his expressive eyes and facial expressions indicate to us that that he is slowly but surely moved by her presence, her naivety and her trust. The final scene of the film suggests that though it may take some time there is genuine hope for both of them. This is a "must-see" film, both for the great acting and for its message of hope.