Though this is self-consciously artistic, quote unquote, it is plausible in many ways. The acting is good. The two young title characters are very good indeed.
A sensitive approach to mental illness in the early 1960s was brave. The vignettes separated by blackouts are initially annoying but one gets used to the technique ad they start to have a genuinely artistic appeal.
The scenes in which David is home are poignant but a bit clichéd. And the ending is unfortunate. Love conquers mental illness. David rescues Lisa and she stops rhyming and he doesn't mind her touching him. OK. The comparison may be unfair but think of the ending of Truffaut's "Wild Child," which raises the question of whether any of what we have seen is moral or not. Maybe that would not have sold at all in the Hollywood of this time and we should be grateful this was made and released at all.
(The Lisa/Muriel aspect, which must be left over from the novel, is not explained clearly in the movie. Which is her real name?)
A sensitive approach to mental illness in the early 1960s was brave. The vignettes separated by blackouts are initially annoying but one gets used to the technique ad they start to have a genuinely artistic appeal.
The scenes in which David is home are poignant but a bit clichéd. And the ending is unfortunate. Love conquers mental illness. David rescues Lisa and she stops rhyming and he doesn't mind her touching him. OK. The comparison may be unfair but think of the ending of Truffaut's "Wild Child," which raises the question of whether any of what we have seen is moral or not. Maybe that would not have sold at all in the Hollywood of this time and we should be grateful this was made and released at all.
(The Lisa/Muriel aspect, which must be left over from the novel, is not explained clearly in the movie. Which is her real name?)