Out of Darkness (1994)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The acting in this movie is really good.

I gave up on this film after 10 minutes..., but then I went back because Diana Ross is amazing in it as Pauline, and because the topic of mental health is important to me. My main complaints: The film sensationalizes violent episodes and is too biased toward one particular drug being a successful treatment for mental health issues versus counseling, which is given little focus. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that the film was sponsored by drug companies that manufacture Clozapine. I wish they had done a better job showing the suffering people go through trying to wean themselves off psychiatric drugs. Also, the expression of emotion has a powerful healing effect, and Pauline showed plenty of healthy emotion (mostly crying), but drugs actually interfere with emotional healing most of the time, not enhance it, so the film is misleading in this sense. On the plus side: Looking past the exaggerated violence, we get to see the internal struggle and relationship issues. We see Pauline's isolation as well as her openness (e.g. telling her 10 year-old daughter what it's like, and apologizing to her angry sister). I loved the particular staff member who "rescued" Pauline with warmth and tough love. My lesson: Most of us pass by in fear or apathy when we see homeless or "crazy" people. Pauline's behavior in the last scene shows we have another choice, if not to help them, at least to feel some compassion.

This film was very well presented, with good performances. It is sad, and does not distort or exaggerate as many other films have, regarding mental and/or emotional disorders.Diana Ross is very good as Paulie, a once brilliant pre-med student, who can no longer function due to paranoid schizophrenia.Rhonda Stubbins-White is also very good as the sister, who wishes everything would just "get back to normal". The actress who portrays Ross' mother is also very good. There is also a cameo with Lindsay Crouse, who attempts to help Paulie in a new day treatment program.Some of the scenes are disturbing, and anyone who may have experienced situations like this in real life may find it close to the truth. Ross gives the audience an excellent portrayal of the disorder, living in her own world, and enduring many medications and hospitalizations.Finally, she is given a new medication which actually works. The scenes are very well-done, as she is sitting outside the medical school, suddenly feeling like she wants to live life again.What I particularly appreciated about the message in this film was that, Paulie recovers in her own time; at age 44, she must learn to re-live the rest of her life, even though she lost 18 years in the hospital, due to the illness. The film does not condescend or fault the patient, she is merely doing the best she can to cope with a destructive illness.At the conclusion, we see Paulie as she is functioning, ready to finish school. On the way, she sees a homeless woman. She leaves her some food, reflecting on how alienated some people are, and how fortunate she was, to have received effective treatment. 9/10.

I remember when I first saw this and thought this is the piece that will re-energize Diana Ross' acting career. An argument can be made that it is her best acting performance ever! even better than "Lady". For the simple reason is that there was no singing, or music for that matter in this film. Diana had to draw on other things to pull this off. And pull it off she did.. Why she didn't receive major accolades for this role is perplexing. Also this made for t.v movie has been locked in a vault somewhere for the last decade. I can't recall ever seeing this replayed again on t.v. The subject matter is very serious and reaches millions of people. It was handle well and with integrity. And the lead performance was as strong as any seen on the small screen.. So why has this performance and film been socio overlooked over the years? Very disappointing...

Diana gives a wonderful performance in this very important work. Before I saw this, I hadn't thought much about mental illnesses - I found her portrait to be vivid and honest. This is a difficult subject matter, and I thank Diana for having the courage to do this disturbing work.