INFINITELY POLAR BEAR – The Review

In the movies we’ve seen countless tales told through the eyes of (usually now grown-up) children all about the wild, wacky adventures they experienced with their unconventional, non-conformist parents or caregivers such as MAME, GYPSY, even the inventor pop of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. But what if they were more than zany, and didn’t break into song. The father of this new autobiographical film is unlike the lovable eccentrics embraced in past films. He’s has a real diagnosed, clinical disorder. How would children really deal with that? This film’s title comes from the younger daughter’s interpretation of her beloved poppa’s condition. Instead of saying that he’s bi-polar or manic-depressive, she says that her daddy is an INFINITELY POLAR BEAR.

This story’s focus is the unconventional Stuart family. Well, unconventional for the late sixties and early seventies. Cameron “Cam” Stuart (Mark Ruffalo) comes from one of the Boston based blue blood families, their fortune made many years ago as a railroad empire. But Cam’s portion of said empire is controlled by his tight-fisted, stern grandmother, so he lives basically on his own meager resources. And he must deal with his bi-polar disorder. Cam’s married to Maggie (Zoe Saldana), a studious African-American woman who is the primary “bread-winner” to the family, and toils as a clerk in a law firm. Cam is basically “Mr. Mom” to their two daughters, whip-smart eleven year-old Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) and sweet eight year-old Faith (Ashley Aufderheide). But as the film begins, Cam is relieved of his duties when he suffers a complete breakdown, and threatens the family. As Maggie and his terrified daughter watch, Cam is arrested and later taken in to be hospitalized. As he slowly recovers, Maggie and the girls are forced to move to a more modest apartment. When Cam moves out of a mental health facility and into a half-way house (and responds well to their visits), Maggie proposes a plan to him. She will take classes in NYC, in order to get a better job, if he will move into the apartment (the couple were on the verge of separation before the incident) and raise the girls (with her coming back for the weekends), and if he promises to stay on his medication and quit drinking. After some hesitation Cam agrees, and soon the girls are re-united with their beloved Daddy, but heartbroken over Mommy’s weekdays absence (which, due to tests and term papers, stretches into solid weeks). But will the added responsibilities and pressures push Cam into a relapse?

Ruffalo adds another superb performance to his impressive career, balancing between his work in small independent films like this and blockbusters like the Avengers flicks where he makes Bruce Banner just as interesting as the big green “other guy”. Here he also treads another tightrope with Cam, who is often lovable, but never completely steady, the unease nearly always present in his darting eyes. We see Cam plunge deep into the darkness of his disorder early on (and a later altercation with an old family friend), then attempt to climb out through the fog of medication (he tries unsuccessfully to replace his lithium with booze, to ill effect). What stays constant, through the outbursts of frustration and the manic highs, is the love for his family (and smoking unfortunately), particularly his passion for Maggie and hope that they can be lovers once more. For fans of the gifted, versatile Ruffalo, BEAR is a must see. Saldana also gets a break from the franchises and the action thrillers, and gives us a woman not only challenged by the situation at home , but by the rules of 70’s society. Mothers were finally joining the workforce, but there seemed to be an extra thick glass ceiling for women of color. Maggie’s determined to give her girls a better life, but her heart is ripped in pieces as she must leave them with long unbearable stretches. She believes in her husband, but worries that she may have given him a burden too heavy for him to shoulder (at times she must be a mother to him). Saldana’s in top dramatic form, showcasing her terrific acting range. Wolodarsky impresses as the eldest daughter, dismissing any charges of nepotism (she’s the director’s daughter). Amelia tries to conceal her anxieties in order to keep Daddy on the right track, knowing when he’s spiraling away, and be a surrogate mom to him and her younger sister. Aufderheide is an adorable young actress with an infectious smile, who’s determined to see the positive in everything. Like most kids, she’s baffled by adult behavior, with the erratic Cam multiplying her confusion. Oh, big kudos to the film makers for casting screen veteran Keir Dullea as Cam’s father in a too brief dinner scene.

Director/screenwriter Maya Forbes, mainly known for her work in comedy, delivers a film full of passion and heartfelt emotion, perhaps since she’s basically telling us her own life story. She makes no attempts to sweetly romanticize those childhood years. The family fun moments are offset by that uncertainty and embarrassment (Dad is aggressively friendly to the neighbors and insists on delivering them to the front steps of their school in his “beater”cars). We root for this family even as we wonder if Maggie’s really doing the right, safe thing for the girls. Bobby Bukowski’s cinematography utilizes a muted palette, perhaps to give the feel of dimmed memories, to great effect, while Theodore Shapiro provides a subtle musical backdrop. Forbes gets terrific work from the entire cast and keeps the story moving for the film’s brisk ninety minutes. Despite the whimsical title INFINITELY POLAR BEAR is a compassionate look at mental illness and a compelling portrait of one family’s strengths and struggles.

4 Out of 5 Stars

INFINITELY POLAR BEAR opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre