Angel Baby (1995) User Reviews

Truly Dramatic

[ACOD · 7/10 · 19 February 1999]

I saw Angel Baby by accident in the early hours of one morning, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

It is basically a modern day love story, with some tragic consequences. A seemingly normal but schizophrenic Harry sees the mentally unstable and superstitious Kate, and it is love at first sight for Harry, but Kate needs some convincing. Eventually the two are infatuated with each other and are caught up in a passionate relationship, and it all goes downhill from there for Kate and Harry.

Truly brilliant and emotional performances from John Lynch (Harry), and the truly beautiful Jacqueline McKenzie (Kate), with great support from Colin Friels as Harry's brother.

Not to be missed

[ksaelagnulraon · 8/10 · 31 January 2002]

Stunning, heartfelt film by little-known director Rymer is most notable for brilliant performances by Lynch and McKenzie, the latter in her best role ever. Maltin called it (incredibly) `over-elaborate treatment of the subject matter' - it's quite the opposite, as mental illness is far too often swept under the carpet in today's society. Friels' character is expertly written, as a brother who cares for his troubled sibling but can't offer any solution, and who doesn't want his family being dragged into Harry's problems. The film's significance was reflected in its performance at the AFI Awards.

Solid unromantisized movie

[howardross · 8/10 · 2 June 2000]

Gritty endearing movie that rings true -- there are so many movies that are fables that tell us that mentally ill people are purer and wiser than the rest of us - like Russian village idiots --- this one tells us that they're real and complex people that ought to be loved but should'nt be left to manage their own treatmeant.

Love is a unique thing to us all.

[marlasingers · 23 August 2004]

When I first saw this film, I felt torn apart by the complexity of love. In particular, the love that exists between the lead characters. It is hard enough in the "real world" for people to have a love without the interference of others.

In this film, the love story is exceptional. The two people have schizophrenia, an illness not of split personality, but of hallucinations that don't exist & voices that are heard but have no face.

So, under all this still lies the human need for love. And these two people find it. Pure & simplified. Until things start to go wrong again.

The challenges that faced the lead actors was to make believable both their love story & their illness. In particular, Jacqueline McKenzie is an amazing & articulate actor & remains true to her character's situation & beliefs throughout the film.

I decided to make a point of mentioning the film for it's true portrayal of a greatly misunderstood & yet common illness. For all the films about cancer, alcoholism & other illnesses, mental illnesses are still generally misunderstood & ignorantly ill-portrayed. Previous to "A Beautiful Mind", this is one of the films that portrays this illness both realistically beautifully, and for those reasons alone it can help people to understand more about an illness that most probably affects someone you know.

Tough film to watch

[SKG-2 · 9/10 · 15 February 1999]

If you read the plot description of this film - two patients in a mental hospital fall in love, decide to move in together, one of them gets pregnant, and the two decide to go off medication for the baby's sake, with tragic results - you might think this is an American-type disease-of-the-week movie, but you'd be wrong. This is a tough and wrenching film which doesn't shy away from the tough questions. The ending is a puzzlement, because I'm not sure what it means, but other than that, this is powerful stuff. John Lynch and Jacqueline McKenzie deserve to be commended, as does writer-director Michael Rymer.

Realistic Script and Profound Performances

[gcd70 · 6/10 · 12 June 2008]

Writer/director Michael Rymer's strong, realistic script and profound performances from John Lynch and Jacqueline McKenzie ensure "Angel Baby" is an impacting drama about two schizophrenic out-patients who begin a relationship and plan to start a family.

Rymer has researched his material well, and this shows in the tellingly accurate screenplay and the sharply observed characters. John Lynch is superb as Harry, a mentally ill fellow who falls immediately for Kate, the bizarre young woman who consults a spiritual guide (her guardian angel who communicates with her through t.v.'s "Wheel of Fortune") for any decision she faces or information she needs. As the said Kate, McKenzie is incredible and has you completely absorbed with her amazing characterisation. The impressive support cast includes Colin Friels, Deborah Lee-Furness and David Argue.

For all it's merits though, "Angel Baby" seems to have no point. Perhaps it is just a quiet statement about the prejudices society holds against the mentally ill, especially those who suffer from schizophrenia. Certainly Rymer never attempts to drive a point home. This can often make for a more enjoyable movie, but "Angel Baby's" hope-less ending, though moving, rather leaves its audience floundering. Tragically Mr. Rymer has killed off what was, up until then, a great movie with too realistic a conclusion, much as Peter Weir did with "Dead Poet's Society".

Pic's other problem involves relating to the audience. Two fabulous performances and incisive writing can never help us get inside the skin of people we do not understand. Little explanation as to the origin of their illnesses, or even of the illness itself, is given, making it hard for us to comprehend the whys and wherefores. Of course the reality of schizophrenia is, we don't really understand it very well at all. There is surely much more to it than we know.

Monday, June 2, 1997 - Hoyts Croydon

Crying my heart out

[ste-hau · 10/10 · 25 August 2000]

I was continuously moving towards my TV-set to help those two youths struggling to overcome their illness and trying to manage in a world who doesn't cope with their needs. Excellent acting from all parties. The film appealed to my rushing out to find someone to comfort. I'm an older grown-up, but I have never in my entire life been so moved by a movie. I loved it.

Movie mistake

[njmjyrghw · 7/10 · 28 August 2023]

After watching the beginning of this movie the first day Harry and Kate meet they both change clothes somehow after getting of the bus then spending the day and night together I believe this is a mistake as it's the same day I doubt they both went home to change. Pretty bad mistake!

One minute they have a chase after getting off the bus then they get some food and talk and they're both wearing different clothes. Has anyone else noticed this mistake. Pretty bad editing and don't know how it was missed. Apart from that I enjoyed the movie, typical Aussie feel to it especially the 90's style. Muriel's a wedding etc.

A very realistic depiction of a mysterious illness

[mcpian · 10/10 · 14 August 2015]

I myself have chronic paranoid schizophrenia. I take modern medications and I am functional, fit and physically healthy, and am a full time student on scholarship. That being said, I will say that this film is the BEST and most ACCURATE DEPICTION of my illness I have ever seen in film. A Beautiful Mind is hogwash, if you do your research, or have schizophrenia, or both, you would know that. This illness is not imaginary roommates to drink on the roof of the library with. WTF no, not for the vast majority of us.

No, this movie depicts the way the medications (which I take- I am on a very strikingly similar medication plan as the male protagonist, Harry) work, the way we see the world, the way we behave, the way people see us, the habits we have, the things we feel and think, it just nails it. I was astounded to see how well they made this movie actually be believable. However, I might add that most people with schizophrenia are not as slim, I am actually a rather muscular weightlifter and have been ever since I was 17, but don't expect most people with my illness to be slim to the extent of the main characters. They looked like models...well, that's not unheard of at all, yet it is a little away from the mean.

I only have a gripe about how they didn't address how most modern medications are likely to cause weight gain? What does that tell you about how accurate this movie is? By the way, I am a psychology major in my senior year, researching stigma of mental illness, so I have some say in whether this is accurate. lol That aside, this movie is a love story which does not hold back. It is some heavy stuff. Be prepared to cry.

If you are thinking of whether to spend an hour and a half watching this, don't think about it, just do it. This is perhaps my favorite movie. I have watched it multiple times, I think three or four over the years since I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and it is just really damn good.

And if for some reason you are thinking of watching this as an educational experience about schizophrenia, lol, even if you are a professor, I don't care, you need to watch this, this is legit. The subtle behaviors, subtle mannerisms, ways they speak, things they think, things they do, everything is accurate. Just to not spoil the movie, the first minute shows Harry standing with his arms open in summer rain. This is accurate! We people with schizophrenia are in fact disinhibited to a degree. There, you may have not known that little factoid, now you do.

If you like romance movies, go ahead, but this is a very potent one. Be prepared. If you like dramas, this is one. If you just like good movies, this is one. I dunno, watch it.

Well Crafted but it mostly left me Uncomfortable

[gpeevers · 6/10 · 21 March 2019]

Sad tale of two disturbed people that meet in group therapy and proceed to fall in love.

I can't say how true to life the depiction of the characters psychoses are, but they are harrowing to say the least. While the film functions on one level as a love story it was hard to ignore the more disturbing look at mental illness.

Overwrought

[chinaskee · 4/10 · 2 September 2001]

If Jacqueline McKenzie and John Lynch weren't such talented actors this film would probably be even worse than it actually is.The story of two mentally disturbed people who fall in love and have a baby is an interesting one,and well worth exploring.However on the negative side,the plot becomes increasingly over the top as the story progresses,and the music choices more and more bizarre,so that by the end I found myself laughing when I know the director intended for me to be crying.

mental disorders are an important topic

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 27 January 2019]

In the 21st century there's been a push to more directly address disabilities, including mental disorders. This makes Michael Rymer's "Angel Baby" all the more fascinating. It focuses on the relationship between a man and a woman who meet in a schizophrenia therapy session, and how their relationship affects those around them. It's a fine piece of work, the sort of movie that should get included in any course focusing on Australian cinema. Maybe not the greatest movie of all time, but I'd say that it's one of the ten best movies of 1995. Definitely see it.

An extraordinary story of love's transcendent power. More movies need to be presented, just like this one, about the serious issue of 'mental illness'!

[Old Joe · 29 December 2004]

The issue presented in the Australian movie 'Angel Baby' is one that is very close to me. I am talking about mental illness and how destructive any of them can be to individuals that get it. I have been affected by both depression and a mild case of schizophrenia (the illness that is shown here) and the highs and lows that come with those illnesses. This film is important as shows what it takes to overcome a mental illness and what affects they can have on your life and those around you.

A funny, haunting love story, 'Angel Baby' tells the story of two lost souls, Harry and Kate, who fall in love against the odds and find hope strength in each other to accomplish the impossible. Full of humour, compassion and hope, Angel Baby is a testament to the power of love and a roller-coaster journey to the magical fringes of the human psyche.

There is a lot to like about and take in with this movie. The writer /director Michael Rymer has bought a very interesting Australian movie to our screen. The story that we get here is one that is probably not all that uncommon, but is not known in our community. It accentuates the difficulties that people have when they are battling any mental illness and what rash choices they make when they are unable function mentally. This story also had the wonderful aspects that show Kate's obsessions of seeing messages from a TV game-show, while I am glad that the story shows both Kate and Harry choosing a life that they are probably not able to keep in complete control of because of their mental illness issues.

Then as director, Rymer makes some very impressive moves. I love how the movie makes us as the audience feel like we are experiencing what the mental illness is like that both Kate and Harry actually have. I believe this mainly through the extraordinary camera work that is used, with all of its different views and angles. This aspect of the movie is helped by its cinematographer Ellery Ryan, who captures it all perfectly. I also love the choice of scenery used in 'Angel Baby', such as the shots of the city and the grand 'West gate bridge', which is used to great effect in the film.

The leading cast to this movie was outstanding. Harry (John Lynch) and Kate (Jacqueline Mackenzie) are wonderful on screen together. They were both very convincing as both very mentally ill patients and it is through their performances that I believe this. There were some very real moments (well that is what they felt like for me) in this film where I believed these actors were suffering a mental illness for real. One such incident is when Kate is totally taken aback by being hit by kid skate-boarding at the local shopping centre. What I saw was a haunting sort of vision, one that I can relate to, and one that I was glad too see.

The rest of the cast is pretty good as well. Harry has concerned friends, the Goodman's. Morris (Colin Friels) and Louise (Deborra-Lee Furness) both show at individual times that they are truly concerned with the situation they find Harry and his girl in. Their son, Sam Goodman, (Daniel Daperis) was another important character, who has a terrific scene with Harry, about being unable to sleep one. What Harry helps Sam out with is ironic, considering the situation that we see Harry gets himself into.

I watched Angel Baby and 'Cosi', (another Australian movie, which deals with mental illness) back to back. Cosi was not as good as Angel Baby in my view, but the two films are completely different. One is from a totally serious point of view, while the other is coming from the comedic perspective about mental illness. I am still yet to see the classic Australian film 'Shine', starring Geoffrey Rush. But from what I have been told, it must be another worthwhile movie about how mental illness affects people, even brilliant and successful individuals.

I am a firm believer that mental illness is an issue in society that is culturally misunderstood by most people. I believe this because people are either misinformed or misdiagnosed, or they immediately dismiss a person with such a problem, saying either 'they are making excuses for themselves' or 'they should just snap out of it'. I personally hate that point of view as it is not only arrogant, but it is also a very naïve point of view in my opinion. I say that compassion should be shown instead of criticism, while understanding and sensitivity should be learnt instead of straight dismissal and sheer arrogance.

I guess my only criticism of Angel Baby is that it has a very limited cast, but perhaps that was a deliberate move, to show both Harry and Kate, for as long as they could. I would have preferred a bit bigger cast. I am glad that we were able to see all sorts of ideas, visions and images presented about how mental illness can affect people in 'Angel Baby', and are eternally grateful that an Australian movie is willing and daring enough to show it. For that, I thank the makers and actors from the bottom of my heart.

CMRS gives 'Angel Baby': 4.5 (Very Good – Brilliant Film)

Demanding but wonderful film

[pkilby · 10/10 · 16 May 1999]

In terms of drawing a direct and raw emotional response to the characters, Angel Baby is probably the best film I have ever seen. Because the characters go through some torrid times, the viewer is drawn into some very unpleasant territory. But I emerged emotionally fulfilled, and really feeling as though I had connected with the mental state of the characters. If this is what you seek from a movie, then please see this one.

Touching

[secragt · 8/10 · 7 May 2003]

Little Aussie sleeper of a movie that takes on the challenging premise of love among the mentally retarded and handles all sides of the issue with surprising sensitivity and aplomb. All the key aspects from writing to directing to acting to editing are top drawer. This is a well intentioned and serious effort.

Still, the subject matter is a tough one... I saw it at a preview screening and probably wouldn't have attended had I known what I was going to see. Still, I'm glad I saw it. Don't go in expecting fun and games or you will not be pleased. A hybrid of CHARLY, David AND LISA and SHINE but don't count on a happy ending. It's a classy, poignant, earnest and worthwhile effort, but ultimately, a bit of a buzz kill. 8.5/10

Cry cry cry.

[Fartland · 9/10 · 11 December 2002]

The two movies I have cried most to have to be this one and Grave of the Fireflies. Both are excellent movies that moves your very soul. If you are going to watch this make sure you watch it with someone you love and can hug.

Writer takes the credit for this great movie.

[Joyce Hauchart · 10/10 · 8 July 2000]

I just saw this movie on TV and thought why didn't I see this earlier? Was it that badly promoted in Europe or did I really miss it? The performers deserve a 10/10 credit, but what to to with the writer, Michael Rymer. Give him 12/10 or more? Imagine a story with two schizo's, true love, a baby, drugs that are allowed and a "normal" family. You would think it stinks, but no, Rymer brings in the wheel of fortune. What a stunt. It's the thin red line that makes this movie incredible.

Daily slapstick around a daily drama. While half of the world is concerned about finding the right consonants, two people are confronted by finding themselves.

Also wonderful editing and the music score is overwhelming. Down Under did it again. Thanks folks.

Powerful and convincing portrayal of psychoses

[Gerry-12 · 8/10 · 10 June 2001]

I don't know enough about psychosis to comment on the accuracy of the film, but it was certainly convincing to me. I can only hope that Australian society is as sympathetic as it is presented here. As a matter of fact, my personal contact with a psychotic showed American society off the screen much more civilized than Hollywood does.

All the actors come through well, but my prize would go to the woman. Some may think the ending a cheap shot, but it's hard to stop a realistic film from going on forever.

sad beautiful movie

[liors · 8/10 · 13 June 1999]

this movie was showed today during abnormal psychology lecture in Haifa university. it is a beautiful movie with a beautiful soundtrack. it made me a bit sad for the rest of the day...

Best Unexloited film

[nikseizure · 10/10 · 6 March 2006]

Some films pull on your heart strings. This one rips them out. One of the most endearing and powerful films that stays in obscurity. If you like heavy romantic films with intense soundtracks and don't want to leave your movie-going experience the same - take a roller-coaster ride with this sometimes funny, sometimes hopeful and unrelentingly heartbreaking work of art. From it's comical beginning it's prepares you for something along the lines of Shaun of the Dead or Monty Python, lifts you up with laughter. You become drunk. Stupid drunk. Then the bottom drops.

Powerful and flawless

Realistic portrayal of mental illness, great soundtrack

[NanRN1965 · 9 April 2002]

I saw this movie recently and enjoyed it very much. It is a truly beautiful love story. I am an RN and I think the characters schitzophrenia and the activities of The Clubhouse and the hospital are realistically portrayed. John Lynch is absolutely adorable. I like Jacqueline MacKenzie, too. I can't believe that she is the same girl who was in Romper Stomper. (That movie is worth watching too.) I loved the music from this movie especially "On Your Shore" by Enya. It was the perfect music choice for the scene it is used in. This movie is definitely worth seeing once and is better the second time when you've got the accents down.

Nothing inevitable at all in this film

[vdegriff · 8/10 · 25 January 2018]

The storyline at the beginning of this page makes reference to an inevitable ending, I don't believe that anything that happens in this film is inevitable. To believe this is to believe that two people with schizophrenia should not act on their love and I don't think that the makers of this film are saying that.

Ask yourself: "Do we really need this film's message?"

[nz man · 9 March 2001]

OK, now do not get me wrong here.

This IS a quality film: the acting and script are very good.

But the story is heavy stuff. If you want deep psychiatric material, or if you are a psychotherapist, or have a loved one who has a psychiatric condition, then this film may be for you. But otherwise it may leave you somewhat 'rattled'.

It was not intended to be light and fun. Just be aware of this.