Infinitely Polar Bear

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Infinitely Polar Bear

R

Released Jun 19, 2015

1h 27m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

119 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

1978. While most fathers spend their days at work, CAM STUART (Mark Ruffalo) is more likely to be found mushroom-hunting, cooking elaborate meals, or working on one of his many half-completed projects. His family's wealth keeps his family just barely afloat, while Cam struggles to live with manic depression. When Cam has a manic breakdown that lands him in a mental hospital, his wife MAGGIE (Zoe Saldana) and their two young daughters, AMELIA and FAITH, are forced to leave their house in the country and move into a cramped apartment in Cambridge, where Maggie tries to find a decent job, with no luck. Broke, stressed, and overwhelmed, Maggie applies to business school and is accepted to Columbia University's MBA program. Seeing this as her chance to build a better life for their daughters, Maggie asks Cam to become the primary caregiver for the girls while she completes her degree in New York. After all, routine is what the doctor ordered and the girls miss their dad. Cam agrees, hoping to rebuild his family. But the two spirited girls are not interested in making things easy for him. With Maggie away in New York, Cam quickly realizes that he's in over his head. Over the course of the next 18 months, as Maggie rushes to complete her degree, he learns, through trial and a lot of error, how to take care of his precocious daughters as well as himself. After years of struggling to find his place in the world, Cam may finally have found where he fits in.

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Critics Consensus

Infinitely Polar Bear handles its thorny themes with a somewhat troublesomely light touch, but Mark Ruffalo's complex performance keeps the drama solidly grounded.

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Emma Myers

IndieWire

Cynics may scoff at the fact that Infinitely Polar Bear glosses some of the filmmaker's darker memories, but they'll need an ice bucket handy if they intend to avoid its warmth altogether.

Rated: B+

Jun 20, 2016

Full Review

Tom Long

Detroit News

Ruffalo is generally wonderful at finding the tone and mood of a character and holding to it; here he has to bounce about, but again he latches onto a consistent energy that makes Cameron a singular life force.

Rated: B

Jul 28, 2015

Full Review

Calvin Wilson

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Infinitely Polar Bear" is a much-needed reminder that the realm of film is still a place to encounter something other than comic-book scenarios.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 23, 2015

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Forbes stays true to the heart and soul of her movie, and her connection to the subject matter shows itself in the pleasing end results.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Ruffalo lives into the character of Cam with a level of honesty and vulnerability that won't much surprise those familiar with Ruffalo's indie work.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 12, 2020

Full Review

Stephen Carty

Radio Times

Ruffalo is incredibly charming, and while Cam's behaviour is often erratic, he is also sweet, funny and endearing. Happily, the same can be said about the film.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 13, 2020

Full Review

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Faiz D

A heartwarming feel-good movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

Full Review

erdene c

the two girls are really sweet

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

Uynga U

very great job about mental illness

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

Munkhjargal A

In 1978, the young man who appeared in this film disappeared for work as a father. She is in the hospital and her family moves into a small house until she thinks that the same guy will be like this. This movie tells how to overcome such problems in life. very good director managed to direct.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

Bahad j

I really liked the characters and actions of the actors

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/22/24

Full Review

alexandre n

I had a hard time watching it cause I've my own mental health issue. It's nice, lovely, well played.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

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Maya Forbes

Director

Mark Ruffalo

Cam

Zoe Saldaña

Maggie

Imogene Wolodarsky

Amelia

Ashley Aufderheide

Faith

Beth Dixon

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Synopsis

1978. While most fathers spend their days at work, CAM STUART (Mark Ruffalo) is more likely to be found mushroom-hunting, cooking elaborate meals, or working on one of his many half-completed projects. His family's wealth keeps his family just barely afloat, while Cam struggles to live with manic depression. When Cam has a manic breakdown that lands him in a mental hospital, his wife MAGGIE (Zoe Saldana) and their two young daughters, AMELIA and FAITH, are forced to leave their house in the country and move into a cramped apartment in Cambridge, where Maggie tries to find a decent job, with no luck. Broke, stressed, and overwhelmed, Maggie applies to business school and is accepted to Columbia University's MBA program. Seeing this as her chance to build a better life for their daughters, Maggie asks Cam to become the primary caregiver for the girls while she completes her degree in New York. After all, routine is what the doctor ordered and the girls miss their dad. Cam agrees, hoping to rebuild his family. But the two spirited girls are not interested in making things easy for him. With Maggie away in New York, Cam quickly realizes that he's in over his head. Over the course of the next 18 months, as Maggie rushes to complete her degree, he learns, through trial and a lot of error, how to take care of his precocious daughters as well as himself. After years of struggling to find his place in the world, Cam may finally have found where he fits in.

Director: Maya Forbes
Producer: Wallace Wolodarsky, Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann, Sam Bisbee, Galt Niederhoffer
Screenwriter: Maya Forbes
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Paper Street Films, Park Pictures
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.4M
Runtime: 1h 27m

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