Mjeteconer Just perfect...

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

evanston_dad In a year where pretty much every movie had to be gargantuan to even be considered for serious Oscar consideration ("To Kill a Mockingbird," you're excused), "David and Lisa" snuck up behind to grab nominations for husband and wife team Frank Perry and Eleanor Perry, for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively."David and Lisa" feels like a bridge between movie eras. Mental illness had been explored plenty of times before, but always in a Big Hollywood Studio kind of way. This film feels more raw and exposed in its treatment of the subject matter, a harbinger of the REALLY raw stuff people like John Cassavetes would start putting on the screen in a handful of years. Unlike Cassavetes movies, this movie feels obligated to make us feel good about our protagonists' futures by the end of the film, but it can be forgiven that I think. Its starkness was probably strong enough stuff for audiences at the time without a more realistic resolution.Keir Dullea (of "2001" fame) and Janet Margolin do fine work as the youngsters who help each other break out of their muddled heads.Grade: A-

dougdoepke The movie's very un-Hollywoodish nature created considerable buzz at the time of release. Audiences weren't used to a documentary-like approach to such tricky subject matter. Then too, the production team and cast were not exactly household names. I expect the movie's success exceeded the Perry's fondest dreams. Happily, it gave them encouragement to continue independent production of offbeat subjects.The trick here is to have mental illness treated in a detached yet sensitive way. At the same time, David's (Dullea) ice-cold demeanor is not apt to win audience allegiance at the outset. We're never told exactly what his problem is, which is the way it should be, but the severe emotional repression evidently has to do with a cold, unfeeling mother (Patterson). Also, not wanting to be 'touched' looks like a metaphor for keeping his feelings hidden not only from others, but from himself as well. In that difficult role, newcomer Dullea is totally convincing— a handsome, pale-eyed iceberg.As Lisa, the unknown Margolin is wonderfully expressive, her face literally lighting up as David shares her secret language of rhyming. She is so winsome, it's not surprising that even David takes notice. We know less about Lisa than about David, but obviously the statues she embraces represent key absences in her life. When the two finally touch, a moving moment rare for any movie is reached. At the same time, note how the therapist Dr. Swinford (deSilva) is portrayed more as a facilitator than as an analyst. He provides the environment in which the two can reach each other in ways that his expertise cannot. And he's wise enough to know that. I don't know what the Perry's expected from their two principal actors, but what they got is almost sublime, and a big reason why I think audiences responded so enthusiastically. Too bad the film has slipped into obscurity since that initial reception. It certainly deserves rediscovery, especially on TCM.

MarieGabrielle This film was a bit ahead of its time, in a positive way when treating the issue of mental disorders.If you compare this to other films circa 1962 (I also reviewed "Tender is the Night" a glossy, unreal Hollywood version of schizophrenia with Jennifer Jones) this comes up a winner.This film addresses the problems of David (realistically portrayed by Keir Dullea), a young obsessive man who cannot relate to people including his parents. They may mean well but come off as alienating and cold. Lisa (well-portrayed by Janet Margolin) is diagnosed with schizophrenia and there is a moving scene where the patients visit a museum and she crawls onto a sculpture of Mother and child, seeming to reach out for a mother's love.We see David as he finally reaches out to Lisa in empathy. She is confused as to whether her name is Muriel or Lisa, and eventually her therapist helps her reconcile this dissociation.What is excellent about this film is the stereotypes and stigmas of Hollywood are put aside. Schizophrenia is not multiple personality nor are these patients always a danger to the public. They are more a danger to themselves and require empathy and treatment, NOT stigmatization by a society which today, should know better.

donjp This beautiful movie has more humanity and intensity than any violent or sexual-filled film that Hollywood puts out today. The magic and conviction of this film will look in your eyes and reach deep into your heart. The acting is superb.You feel like a voyeur uninvited watching a drama unfold.The actress has a sweet demeanor which is very rare in actresses today.The actor just pulls on your heartstrings with his ability to convey to the viewer that he cant touch,yet wants to ...desparat.ely. The simple scene in which the lead actor shares a slice of chocolate cake with the psychiatrist,shows an enormous amount of two humans interacting on a level of the patient and the doctor,yet each learning and teaching from another.The vulnerability and rawness of the film reaches so many different levels and scenes throughout the movie.This film has much more raw emotion than Nicholson's film"One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest".And that is because the story gets right to the point.It is beautifully done simple,and not trying to hard.Dr.Petersen