Infinitely Polar Bear
(2014)Sometimes family is the best medicine.
Bittersweet comedy-drama about a strange time in an unconventional family's life - when a bipolar father (Mark Ruffalo), incapable of managing adult responsibilities, is forced to care for his two precocious daughters by himself. This is writer-director Maya Forbes' feature film debut, inspired by her own childhood.... More
"The year is 1978, and the Stuart family is struggling to hold it together. Cameron, a bipolar father, has had a nervous breakdown that leaves him unemployable, and Maggie, a hardworking mother, can’t quite make ends meet. Despite Cameron’s aristocratic pedigree and the couple’s top-notch education, they’re broke. When Maggie decides to accept a scholarship to pursue her MBA in New York, she must leave her daughters, Faith and Amelia, in Boston with their now-somewhat-convalesced father. So begins an untamed, unpredictable, 18-month experiment as eccentric, exuberant Cameron takes over primary parenting of his precocious, sensitive little girls." (Sundance Film Festival)
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Directed by Maya Forbes
Starring Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo, Keir Dullea, Wally Wolodarsky, Imogene Wolodarsky, Ashley Aufderheide
Written by Maya Forbes
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Infinitely Polar Bear
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80%
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Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Funny and sympathetic memoir goes easy on the tale's dark side. Full Review
Mark Ruffalo gives one of his most appealing performances in writer-director Maya Forbes' irresistible feature debut. Full Review
Feels good without feeling superficial. Full Review
Ruffalo, a master of rumpled befuddlement, finds his signature role here... Full Review
Heartfelt and honest, but it's too cute by half. Full Review
The film's saving grace is the cast, especially perhaps the two girls... vibrant and authentic performances, charming and real and utterly convincing. Full Review
BY Leonie Hayden Flicks Writer
If your experience of having an alcoholic parent with bipolar disorder isn’t particularly rosy then this film may not resonate with you. Writer/director Maya Forbes introduces us to her own father via this semi-autobiographical vehicle starring Mark Ruffalo as the boisterous and afflicted Cameron - an eccentric New York blue-blood that has suffered a nervous break down and a tumble down the social ladder. It’s 1978 and Cam’s wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) accepts a scholarship to Columbia University’s business school. The couple can’t afford to relocate the whole family to New York, so unemployable, chain-smoking Cam must commit to becoming the sole caregiver of their two daughters for 18 months.... More
So begins an unpredictable joyride of domestic chaos that hints at but ultimately steers clear of anything too dark or neglectful, giving the general impression that manic depression is synonymous with fun art projects, unusual breakfast foods and creative swearing. The director has cast her own daughter, Imogene Wolodarsky as the younger her, both charming and convincing as a pre-adolescent navigating her bi-racial identity in the late-70s as well as the embarrassment of her unusual home life. Both Wolodarsky and the younger Ashley Aufderheide have a precocious wit that carries the film’s lighter moments, and such a hilarious rapport with Ruffalo that it begs forgiveness for the film’s less-than-realistic observations of mental illness.
At the end of the day it’s Forbes’ story to tell, and although she does so with rose-tinted glasses glued firmly in place, Infinitely Polar Bear is a funny, sympathetic tale about loving, determined parents looking for a better life for their kids.Hide
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