Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

k-symeo i just saw the movie ..and i can deeply relate.. We're often told love is a form of madness.. and its true..BPD are people with third degree burns over 90% of their bodies. Lacking emotional skin, they feel agony at the slightest touch or movement.Having Borderline feels like eternal Hell. Never knowing how they going to feel from one minute to the next. Hurting because they hurt those people who they love.It is hard to be accused of manipulation when really it's a scream for love Believe me its hard to be in love with with a BPD person there are able to instantly drop all their feelings for somebody who meant the world to them moments before..] ..i can relate..i have been there.. They can crush your insides every time with cruel words and behavior .. but you know deep down they love you.. more than anyone else who's ever loved you ..

kearin_g Touched with Fire was a whirlwind of a film to watch. Although it had its brief moments that pumped its audience with adrenaline, the story dragged for the rest of the show time.The film centers around two writers suffering from an episode of the condition they both share: bipolar disorder. They meet as patients in the psych hospital they are being treated at. Carla is a mysterious and quiet poet who is tricked into committing herself into the hospital by her psychiatrist. Marco- a rebellious songwriter- is committed against his will after a night of mania and foolish acts. As the two attempt to accept their treatment, they grow a bond that widens their hearts but threatens their mental health. The performances was probably one of the aspects of the film that boosted the film's quality, but Katie Holmes acts more like she is high on drug which has the purpose to release you of stress rather than a sufferer of bipolar. Although many praised her performance in the feature, I found it lifeless and tedious. Luke Kirby shines as Marco and portrays both the aggressive and humane aspects of his character. His performance brought out the accurate feelings, sorrows and artistic abilities of a bipolar sufferer.One of my problems with the film was that the plot was disorganized and many events that occurred didn't seem to match the puzzle of the story.There was certain repetition of each event and many 'Romeo and Juliet' moments. These moments included the parents of both characters telling them they couldn't be together, them running away , being found and the cycle occurring a few more times. Despite the disorganized plot, Touched With Fire does display bipolar disorder to a superb degree. The characters are written accurately and aren't displayed by any false stereotypical means.Touched with Fire is worth watching due to the important message it spreads about an illness everyone thinks they know-but they really don't.7 out of 10 stars.

Sam Cotten As much as I wish I could, it would not be fair to give this film a higher rating than I have, the reason being that I understand why it is completely impossible for the vast majority of viewers to ever find this film as moving as I do. Those of us who are members of the elite craft that Marco mentions all see this movie through a completely different lens than those who do not live every day of our lives with this thing that can be just as accurately categorized as an illness as a gift.Paul Dalio, writer, director, editor and composer of this film, has been through the experience of being hospitalized with a manic episode and subsequently diagnosed and medicated. Using his artistic gift for film making, he has created a story that attempts to show the world what it's like to experience life with bipolar disorder. It is a very nice story that does a good job of deeply exploring the subject matter. However, although he clearly has a gift for storytelling, Dalio's attempt creates something that may be difficult or impossible for most of his audience to relate to. Those of us with bipolar have the same experience when watching this movie as the boomer generation has when watching Forrest Gump - constantly saying to ourselves, "Wow, yeah, I remember that." Everyone else sees something very different, and I could easily understand if the majority of people who see this movie either don't understand it or find it mediocre.It may be a while before the world is really ready for this movie. Psychology is still a fairly new subject that has only been studied in depth by more than just a few people for the last sixty years or so. I do hope the day will soon come when bipolar disorder will be much better understood by everybody. If that day ever does arrive, then and only then will this movie ever become the classic that I believe it deserves to be.

Howard Schumann First-time director Paul Dalio's Touched with Fire, originally titled Mania Days, is an honest attempt to provide insight into the illness commonly known as bipolar disorder. The film depicts how two young poets are compelled to battle parents, doctors, and the cultural consensus to maintain their relationship which is considered dangerous by the community because of their illness. The film stars Katie Holmes ("Woman in Gold") as Carla, a published poet and Luke Kirby ("Empire of Dirt") as Marco, also a poet whose rap-oriented artistry is often shared at poetry slams. After she meets with an unresponsive audience at one of her poetry readings, a frustrated and depressed Carla implores her mother Sara (Christine Lahti, "The Steps") to tell her about the origin of her disease.Told by her mother only to take her medications and talk to her doctor, Carla signs herself into a psychiatric hospital in an attempt to read her medical records. It is there she meets Marco who is committed after displaying signs of delusions, claiming to be from another planet and predicting the apocalypse is about to happen. The incident occurs after his father, George (Griffin Dunne, "Dallas Buyer's Club") visits his apartment where he sees books strewn all over the floor, the heat turned off because bills were not paid, and Marco refusing to take his meds, convinced that they would stifle his creativity.The two poets meet at a group therapy session and, after some predictable initial antagonism, they develop a relationship, meeting together regularly in the middle of the night. Their budding relationship, however, only seems to increase the frequency of their manic episodes and causes their families consternation. Over the protests of their parents, Marco and Carla continue their relationship when they are released from the hospital, but things get more complicated when Carla becomes pregnant and Marco still refuses to take his meds. In a cameo that feels somewhat out of place, Marco and Carla visit clinical psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison, the author of the book "Touched with Fire" who strongly suggests the advisability of their taking their prescribed medications, reassuring them that it will not affect their creative impulses.The main thrust of the film, however, seems to offer a contradictory message. It shows the two lovers acting with exuberance as they jump into public water fountains, break into empty apartments, read each others poetry, and try to escape the police by driving their car into the water and swimming to the shore. To add to the film's mixed message, a list of famous people who ostensibly suffered from bipolar disorder is shown during the credits. The evidence that these celebrities were bipolar is left to the imagination, since none is offered and most of those listed lived before the idea of mental illness was even on the radar.While Touched with Fire has its heart in the right place, its sincerity does not translate into a satisfying film. Kirby and Holmes have little chemistry together and much of the dialogue, when it does not consist of psychotic rants, feels awkward and barely registers on the believable scale. While the film strives for authenticity and is reflective of the director's own personal experience, it is also confusing, poorly written, and pretentious, glaring defects that, for me, stood in the way of any real emotional impact.