Boy Interrupted

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Boy Interrupted

2009

1h 32m

Documentary

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3 Reviews

89%

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250+ Ratings

Evan Scott Perry received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder when he was a preteen, and in 2005, committed suicide at the age of 15. There was a family history of mental illness; his Uncle Scott had killed himself at 22 in 1971.Evan had first exhibited suicidal tendencies when he was only 5. Directed by his mother, filmmaker Dana Heinz Perry, the film traces Evan's growing mental illness, including videotapes made throughout his short life and interviews with his friends and doctors.

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Rob Humanick

Slant Magazine

Not unlike Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, personal anguish here proves emotionally cathartic.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 4, 2009

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Tirdad Derakhshani

Philadelphia Inquirer

Boy Interrupted is a remarkable, deeply unsettling documentary about the life of Evan Perry, an uncommonly bright, talented boy from New York who committed suicide at age 15.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 2, 2009

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Melissa Camacho

Common Sense Media

Haunting suicide/depression docu; watch with your teens.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 2, 2011

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william k

Heartfelt, but also unsettling documentary doesn't come up with answers, but draws an adequate, inside picture of the family's and the boy's struggle with mental illness.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Made me sick that those parents made their mentally ill son who was clearly suffering live in the constant filming for their purposes. It would probably lead me to suicide too having parents like that. Help your child, don't film his symptoms for the world to be entertained with. I felt bad watching it.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

Very unsettling documentary about an issue that is critical to learn more about - mental illness. It's a great watch and learn. We ALL know someone, many who are close to us, who do not have a choice in certain ways that their mind works. It behooves us to know more, for them, for us, and for life.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Audience Member

"there isn't a choice to cope" A tremendously sad and heartfelt documentary looking at the life and tragic suicide of a young teenage boy. With such a personal and distressing subject matter, you might expect those involved to tread with caution and hold something back but that's not the case here. The film's strongest achievement is its honesty. It's that honesty that allows us to see ourselves in their shoes or in Evans and it's stories like this that stay with you. This is a film where you will learn something, just as long as you're willing to take the lesson.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Boy Interrupted is a harsh, brutally honest look into the lives of mentally ill children and the hardship that their parents must learn to deal with.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

This is ine of the most compelling and insightful pieces I have ever seen about unravelling what life is for a person with mental illness.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Dana Heinz Perry

Director

Dana Heinz Perry

Producer

Sheila Nevins

Executive Producer

Nancy Abraham

Executive Producer

Hart Perry

Cinematographer

Geof Bartz

Film Editing

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Synopsis

Evan Scott Perry received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder when he was a preteen, and in 2005, committed suicide at the age of 15. There was a family history of mental illness; his Uncle Scott had killed himself at 22 in 1971.Evan had first exhibited suicidal tendencies when he was only 5. Directed by his mother, filmmaker Dana Heinz Perry, the film traces Evan's growing mental illness, including videotapes made throughout his short life and interviews with his friends and doctors.

Director: Dana Heinz Perry
Producer: Dana Heinz Perry
Production Co: Perry Films, Inc.
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m

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