I Smile Back
USA
2015.
Dir: Adam Salky. 85 min. DCP
VANCOUVER PREMIERE! From
the outside looking in, Laney Brooks (Sarah Silverman) has it all: a
comfortable upper-middle-class life, a charming and successful husband,
two beautiful children, and a big house in the suburbs. But behind the
façade, Laney is in serious emotional pain, and struggling mightily with
depression, anxiety, abandonment issues, and multiple addictions
(booze, pills, and sex — both with strangers and a friend’s husband).
Eschewing her prescribed lithium, Laney risks everything by indulging
her impulses in increasingly destructive ways, to devastating effect.
Director Adam Salky elicits an extraordinary performance from Silverman.
The screenplay was adapted by Amy Koppelman from her novel of the same
name. “Silverman, digging so deep into her character that we can feel
her nerve endings, is like nothing we’ve seen before … This is acting
of the highest calibre” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).
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Post-screening discussion with Dr. Heather Fulton.
Dr. Fulton is a Registered Psychologist at the Burnaby Centre for Mental
Health and Addictions. She is also an Instructor in the UBC Departments
of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Continuing Studies. Her research and
clinical practice focus on promoting the use of evidence-based practices
in the treatment of substance use and concurrent mental health issues.
Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.
“Silverman is completely riveting … A showcase for [her] considerable prowess as a dramatic lead actress.”
The Playlist | full review
“A tough, unbending, sometimes brutally truthful profile of one woman’s addiction … Silverman is unforgettable.”