Chapter 3 Discussion

CHAPTER 3

DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the author will discuss about the theoretical points with the scenes that show up in the movie.

3.1. Summary of the movie

Touched with Fire is a 2015 American drama film directed and written by

Paul Dalio. The film stars Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby, Christine Lahti, Griffin

Dunne and Bruce Altman. The film is about two bipolar poets who meet in a psychiatric hospital and fall in love. The film was released on February 12, 2016, by Roadside Attractions.

Carla (Katie Holmes) begins the film at a low point, unenthusiastically reading her book of poetry to a small, uninvolved group at an event. She is quickly consumed by the desire to figure out what triggered her initial manic episode shortly after college, which leads her to accidentally check herself into a facility under the care of her psychiatrist.

After intending just to spend a single night there while doing research in her paperwork, she is not allowed to leave the next morning. By contrast, Marco

(Luke Kirby) struggles more with integration with society, holing himself away in a cluttered apartment, taking electricity from the hallway, and being hauled away by the police after a particularly bad episode. When Carla and Marco connect in a daily support group meeting, they bond over their shared experience with both mania and words: her as a more traditional poet, and he as a rapper with an Eminem-like delivery who calls himself “Luna.”

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The similarly afflicted artist Vincent Van Gogh and his “Starry Night” play a role in their courtship, with the piece swirling over the walls in their imagination during a manic moment at the institution to literally being painted on the walls in the apartment they later share.

Both are visually striking scenes, giving the audience a hint at how the bipolar experience might help drive creativity. Carla’s parents and Marco’s father share a concern about how their mutual disorder brings out the worst in each other. The couple spends time in and out of the treatment center, on and off their medication, as they fall deeper in love.

Carla and Marco’s illness manifests itself in different ways, allowing the actors to take varied approaches to their characters. Holmes gets the less flashy of the two lead parts, but she surprisingly excels at showing Carla’s quieter depressions and panics, and she shows more range than in a number of previous roles. In his work in “Rectify” and “Take This Waltz,” Kirby has displayed a quiet charm, which is absent here to great effect. His Marco/Luna careens from one emotional extreme to the other, and he displays far more of the disorder’s delusions of grandeur than Holmes’ Carla.

After they run away from their family, they found out that Carla is pregnant.

During the moment where they run away, their manic state develop rapidly which makes them do so many negative things, such as steal money, steal a car and reckless things. Because of what they have done, it makes them caught by police. Then their family come to pick them up and separated them for a months.

After they have been separated, they entering a state called depressive state which a state that make them feel anxious, full guilty, less of interest in life, sad,

even suicidal. They don’t want to eat, they did not interact with other people even their families. During the state depression, their desire to meet again makes them try really hard to find an information about each other, such as address from the hospital which the first place that they met. But the hospital did not gave them any kind information.

After Carla read the notes, she quickly go to that place and finally she meet him. They both feel very happy. They think that it will be a good decision if they stick together and talk to their family. They make a decision to settle down and ask a permission from their family to stay together. After a long augmentation from their family, finally their family agree with Carla and Marco and let them live together but if they want to follow the rules such as drink their medicine, and Marco should get a job. They both agree with that decision and finally they live together.

But suddenly an unexpected thing happens, without any reason Carla decide to abortion her baby without telling Marco and her family. Since that Marco and

Carla fight to each other and arguing to each other. They both feel they are not supposed to live together, and with a sad heart they decide to break up. Finally in the end of the movie, Carla found another guy who can stay with her craziness but in the other side Marco still love Carla and decide to move on from their love story.

3.2. Analysis of the story

In this part the author will discuss about the manic depression episodes.

Manic depressive disorder have two episodes that is manic and depressive that

found in the main characters of the movie, Carla and Marco.

3.2.1. The manic episodes of the main characters

The writer uses the theory in chapter 2 to identify the episodes or states of

the main characters. Below are the scenes about manic depressive states

according to Giovanni Maciocia (2009:499).

1. Manic states

Data 1

Figure 3.2.1.1. Marco read a poetry about himself

Supporting dialogue:

Marco : “They call me luna “ Crowds : “Luna!” Marco : (Reading a poem) “Because my mind moves in tune with the lunar shifts they call me a lunatic because my biological clock’s a time bomb that ticks down to

the minute the full moon’s lit, I just got out of the loony bin and I haven’t taken my medication so I’m about as unstable as if nitro raped glycerin more insane than batman’s riddles if Jim Carrey had played him”.

(00:05:22 – 00:06:04)

This scenes told us about Marco read poetry about himself. He called himself as Luna. He spend all of his night with drawing and writing poetry. He declined to live as a normal person would, he does not eat anything but ketchup, and he doesn’t pay the electricity bills. He even avoids his family and live alone.

After read his poets, he go to a building rooftop to catch the moon light, he believed that he’s one of creature that come from the moon and the moon have people that can understand him and think like him not like the earth.

The writer thinks this is one of manic episodes of manic depressive disorder.

A person with manic depressive disorder while in a manic state shows symptoms and one of it is delusion of grandiosity of person itself. Marco makes poetry of himself because he’s in manic episodes, this state makes him feels like have special super powers. Exactly, in this scene Marco thinks he is not from the planet earth that’s why he’s dazed for a long time and look up to the moon.

2. Depressive state

Data 2

Figure 3.2.1.2. Carla and Marco become suicidal

(there is no dialogue in this scene)

(00:49:55 – 00:52:30)

These scene shows us about Marco and Carla have been separated by

several times and made them feel low so they enter the depressive episode and

become suicidal because of that. They both want to kill themselves. Marco took

his father gun and Carla took a razor blade.

When they are starts entering the depressive episodes, they feel really want

to kill themselves because they feel depressed being separated and cannot meet

with one another. They feel have no energy and have no interest in life. They

lived their life with the empty feeling, stare to nothing all they long.

The writer thinks this is one of the depressive episodes in manic depressive

disorder. A person with manic depressive disorder while in the depressive state

shows symptoms and one of it is worthlessness. They have delusions of

worthless and ruined. They choose to take suicide because they been in the

depressive episodes that makes them wanting for death.

3.2.2. The manic depression symptoms

As the following in the chapter two, there are several sign/symptoms in manic depressive disorder according to (Jovinelly, 2001)and (Downing Orr, 2013).

1. Insomnia

Data 1

Figure 3.2.2.1 Marco has conversation with Carla

Supporting dialogue:

Marco : “can’t sleep?’ Carla : “no” Marco : “so Emily, can I ask you what your full fake name is ?” Carla : “Emily Lowell”

Marco : “is that Emily Dickson and Robert Lowell?” “Those are good poets, do you know they were both bipolar?” Carla : “you think every great artist was bipolar” ” its fine if its helps you” Marco : “we of the craft are all crazy “

(00:30:08 – 00:32:20)

This scene show us Marco and Carla cannot sleep at night so they go to the library. They draw and Carla takes a cup of playdoh to kill her bored at midnight.

Then they talk about many famous artists that have manic depressive too in Marco opinion.

They do stuff and talk a lot until the sun comes out and they didn’t feel any tired or feel sleepy at all. So start from this day, Carla and Marco often to meet at the library in the middle of the night. They do a lot of things that they think it’s fun to do.

They both cannot feel sleepy because it’s one of the signs of the disorder.

Insomnia is one of the symptoms of the manic depressive disorder, this is happening to a person who is in the manic state, that’s why they not seems have any problem with that.

2. Frantic writing

Data 2

Figure 3.2.2.2. Carla write a poetry in the middle of the night

Supporting monologue:

Carla : “The fire went out” “Black not even smoke , to sniff up the memory of last night’s wild sight“ “And resurrect it’s magic back” “Sun burn on the tip of matchstick with one flick of god’s finger” “As all eternal blows out lost in shadows” “Surround my lips like vicious flint with thrilled flicks lick with silk”

(00:06:20 – 00:06:50)

This scene told us about Carla that cannot sleep at night because

suddenly she get inspiration to write her poetry. So she rushes to write down that

poetry that comes unexpectedly. She writes it so fast even she cannot control her

breath.

She writes down the poetry down too fast, her bedroom suddenly looks

disordered, she sweats a lot. She seems like have a vision from the god. She

cannot sleep at night and suddenly have poetry ideas come out her head.

The writer thinks that Carla can’t sleep at night and get an inspiration

unexpectedly in the middle of the night that’s because that is a signs of manic

depressive. A person with manic depressive disorders shows symptoms and one

of that is doing things in a rush such as frantic writing. The way she writes her

poetry is not like “the normal people” do. Her eyes wide open, out of breath and

drench in her sweats.

3. Euphoric mood

Data 3

Figure 3.2.2.3 Carla and Marco playing around the water fountain with kids

Supporting monologues:

Carla : (Writing a poem) “We awoke from our sleep and left our sanity beside our bed” “peeled off those sedative sheets” “release our eyelids grip on their protective lens” “and let the whole miracle in against all defense, past the shattering glass” “god grant us that view”

(01:05:55 – 01:06:24)

This scene shows us about Carla and Marco playing around the fountain in

the middle of the park. They are running around the fountain with hands on one

another. They laugh a lot when running around the fountain and even drench

from head to toe.

Marco and Carla feel really happy and look like have a lot of energy. They

didn’t feel ashamed or anything playing around the water fountain with kids

running around the like that even there is no another adults near them around the

fountain. Mood increase like this makes them do any stuff confidently, the feel

comfortable doing thing in the scene.

The writer thinks this scene is one of the manic depressive disorder

symptoms in the movie that shows Carla and Marco in the manic state. A person

with manic depression that in the manic state shows mood change becomes

euphoric, so they tend to do things shameless and confidently like running

around the water pond as the scene shows.

4. Reckless behavior

Data 4

Figure 3.2.2.4 Carla and Marco’s car jump down to the river

Supporting Dialogues:

(Police Siren) Marco : “Oh shit” Carla ; “What are we going to do?” Marco :”I’m going to drive in the river” Carla :” What?” Marco : “We’ll have nature support” (the car jump in the river)

(01:15:20 - 01:16:14)

This scene shows us Marco and Carla driving around the mountain.

They feel so happy because they finally escaped from their parents. When

they’re driving down, they speed up their car. In this good atmosphere they don’t

even notice the police car that park on the side of the road. Immediately the

police go after their car and suddenly it makes they freak out. Marco drive the

car towards to the river and the car ended jump down to the river.

According to (Downing Orr, 2013) states that someone who often likes

to act reckless is a sign of people with manic depression personality. A person

with manic depression that in a manic state have symptoms and one of that is

reckless behavior. In this scene the characters tend to always do dangerous thing

which is can be harm for people around them especially in this scene which is

drive on the mountain with high speed. Then it can be proved that people of these

characters are manic depression.

5. Lasting sad and anxious

Data 5

Figure 3.2.2.5 Carla and Marco

dazed for a long time

Supporting dialogues:

Marco’s dad : “Wake up, I made u dinner” Carla’s mom : “taken a shower?” “just take a bath ?” Carla : “ yeah” Carla’s mom : “Didn’t you take one like, four hours ago? Carla : “it’s the same one” Carla’s mom : “you’ve in the tub for four hours?” Carla : “it comforts me”

(00:46:48 – 00:49:27)

In this scene Marco and Carla feels really sad and weak. They just stare into nothing for hours. All they want is to lay in bed all day, didn’t want to eat.

Avoid people even their families. Carla and Marco get anxiety about being separated to one another. Carla did not want to be separated with him and also

Marco.

This scene showed the sign of manic depression disorder according to

Muir-coshrane&Barkway (2014:499) called lasting sad and anxious which tell that they getting separated to each other.

The writer thinks this is one of manic depressive disorders symptoms that is depressive episodes. A person with a manic depression while in the depressive state shows a symptoms and one of that is lasting sad and anxious feeling. Carlo and Marco gets the act of lasting sad because they cannot meet to one another because people around them didn’t like they are together also they cannot have control their selves.