Helen

R

2009

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

44%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A talented professor is forced to deal with her clinical depression.

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bhuvanesh b

The film could have been better, but what the so-called critics miss is that this is a film about depression, so it is supposed to be "slow" and "relentless." I don't think those critics have ever tried looking at things from another person's perspective. I loved this quote from the film, in which Helen (Ashley Judd) emphasizes to a frustrated student the importance of silence in music: "Hold on to time. Suspension. Silence. That's where you'll find what you're looking for. In the distance between things."

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An okay story but with a very dry and lacklustre execution. Some fine performances here and there, but still uninspiring and cliched overall, closer to a LifeTime TV movie of the week than anything.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

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Audience Member

An honest and difficult portrayal of the struggle on all sides of depression.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

As a sufferer of mental illness, I can deeply relate to these characters. For those who don't suffer or have someone in their life who does, they will not likely enjoy this movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Não gostei da forma que a atriz retrata a depressão, parece muito falsa pelo teor do drama, devia ser algo mais parado.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I think the best part about this movie is the mostly accurate portrayal of major depression. There is nothing that anyone else can do about it and it requires medical attention. The rest of the movie was pretty good.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Sandra Nettelbeck

Director

Ashley Judd

Helen

Goran Visnjic

David

Lauren Lee Smith

Mathilda

Alexia Fast

Julie

Alberta Watson

Dr. Sherman

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Dave Calhoun

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Jan 22, 2013

Full Review

Perri Nemiroff

CinemaBlend

Unless you're prepared to be needlessly drowned in another woman's problems for nearly two hours, stay away.

Rated: 1.5/5

Aug 13, 2010

Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

In roles that could have devolved into arias of melodrama, the cast never overplays its hand, fighting the omnipresent melancholy in small ways rather than large.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 30, 2010

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Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Rated: 3/5

Jan 22, 2013

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Jim Slotek

Jam! Movies

I wish the movie itself had mood swings as wild as Mathilda's. Judd's depression is relentless.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 5, 2010

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Larry Carroll

MTV

"Helen" is a very heavy film.

Aug 3, 2009

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Synopsis

A talented professor is forced to deal with her clinical depression.

Director: Sandra Nettelbeck
Executive Producer: Chris Curling, Robert Little, Doug Mankoff
Screenwriter: Sandra Nettelbeck
Production Co: Egoli Tossell Film
Rating: R (Language|Brief Sexuality)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 4, 2016

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