why_me_why_not | (no subject)

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Okay, so I'm watching Neo Ned right now on Netflix and I have ALL THE FEELINGS (Jeremy Renner & Gabrielle Union & buckets of craziness) and tell me one of you has seen this and can talk to me about it?

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Me! Me! I've seen it! Big buckets of crazy! Discuss!

So many feelings! Idek! I'm weird about watching movies centered around mental illness because I'm always worried about either relating too much to one of the characters or getting pissed because the portrayals don't work like actual crazy. So even those this movie did include buckets of crazy, the crazy seemed real. Make sense?

I loved Ned. I think he was just a confused, crazy kid. Even when he was talking shit that made me wanna cover my ears (even though I grew up hearing that kind of stuff - there's a reason I don't associate with most of my family), I don't think he actually meant it. Obviously, since he went from trying to be a white supremacist to falling for a black girl pretty damn quickly. I think he liked being in the mental hospital because of the attention and the structure, which is something I can relate to. When they were kicking him out and he asked if he could still go to the zoo, I maybe almost teared up. I did tear up when he hugged the... idk if he was a nurse or a guard or a little of both, but the guy from Boy Meets World who worked at the hospital? Anyway, yeah. Sad.

I can't believe they never got caught for the stolen car though. I don't get it.

I also don't the whole Rachel-thinks-she's-Hitler thing. I think Gabrielle Union did an awesome job, just because I think I could tell that Rachel was never actually HAPPY, even when she was having good times with Ned. I don't doubt she loved him, but she wasn't happy.

I knew before it actually played out that Ned was going to stay and take the fall for killing that guy. I know people who feel more comfortable behind bars, but usually it's after they've been there before. I can't understand why Ned seemed to have spent his whole life trying to reach that point, but I guess it's because of his dad. Ned's mom is nuts, btw, and not in a good way.

*TMI ALERT* - When Rachel wet the bed, I actually had to pause the movie and walk away. I have weird reactions to things that are overly-relatable, and that has happened to me more than once. Also, I hope that she can find peace with what happened, because she KILLED SOMEONE (who deserved it, but still, killing changes a person) and someone she cares about (in whatever crazy way) is serving time over it.

I can't believe I didn't even know about this film. Sometimes Netflix recommendations get it right, lol.

'm always worried about either relating too much to one of the characters or getting pissed because the portrayals don't work like actual crazy. So even those this movie did include buckets of crazy, the crazy seemed real. Make sense?

COMPLETELY. Movies like Black Swan make me nuts b/c the mental illness is so ill-defined. Maybe that's the director's point, to make you experience the crazy, but it just comes off like SHE HAS THE MADNESS. This film tried really hard.

I thought Renner did a great job, although it felt a little acted to me sometimes, but mostly, I watched the movie because I couldn't stop watching him. I agree with everything you said. I think Ned just desperately needed to belong to something, and that's why the end is almost positive.

I can't believe they never got caught for the stolen car though. I don't get it.

Me too.

I also don't the whole Rachel-thinks-she's-Hitler thing. I think Gabrielle Union did an awesome job, just because I think I could tell that Rachel was never actually HAPPY, even when she was having good times with Ned. I don't doubt she loved him, but she wasn't happy.

I always, always like Gabrielle Union. I thought the character came across as deeply depressed, and that worked for me, but the Hitler thing didn't quite. And she didn't seem self-hating enough to buy her own reasoning for why she was Hitler. IDK. That first time she spoke German to Ned, though, I thought was great.

I knew before it actually played out that Ned was going to stay and take the fall for killing that guy. I know people who feel more comfortable behind bars, but usually it's after they've been there before. I can't understand why Ned seemed to have spent his whole life trying to reach that point, but I guess it's because of his dad. Ned's mom is nuts, btw, and not in a good way.

Yeah, it felt a little overwritten like the plot was obviously heading there. I agree about his dad. I think it also gave him purpose, to save Rachel, and a way to be in jail and still be a good person, having "killed a rapist".

It really is quite a piece of acting for Renner, and all the actors were really good. I like how understated things felt, in contrast to Ned's high octane crazy. I'd also love to see Union in more romantic leads, I just love her.

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