Numb (UK)

Introduction

Dear God, they're talking about a Friends movie. They'll probably call it Friends Reunited, get a tie-in deal with lots of product placement and get it to pay for itself. They probably saw the success of the Sex and the City movie, and figured they could go another year without having to be creative. I don't know who this 'they' is, but I swear to you, if I ever find 'they' I'll beat it insensible! There isn't a single moment on this planet where some channel or another isn't showing an episode of Friends. It's probably E4, but the sheer deluge of episodes that a 9-year run produced simply has to be enough. I have a theory that if they actually film just 10 seconds more of Friends, the universe will collapse in on itself through sheer shame faster than you can say Large Hadron Collider. But we can sleep safe at night, as of this moment, none of the 'they' actually includes any of the cast of Friends, and you'd think that they would need all six before a movie even has a chance. So as long as the former Friends are having success in their respective careers, we should be safe. And it looks good. None of the women are having problems career wise, with a whole swathe of red on their IMDB pages indicating pre and postproduction stage movies. David Schwimmer has stepped behind the camera, and has directed Run, Fatboy Run, and is now rumoured to be directing Matt Lucas and David Walliams as they attempt to translate Little Britain for US audiences, (no doubt they'll rename it Little England). It's Matt LeBlanc we have to worry about. Movies including Lost In Space, Ed, Charlie's Angels, All the Queen's Men (read the review on this site for an eye-opener), and then back to TV for Joey, if anyone will cave first… At least Matthew Perry is keeping the side up, fun movies with Bruce Willis, memorable appearances on The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and now Numb, a movie that occupies the same sort of Indie space that The Good Girl did for Jennifer Aniston, and could prove to be a role that opens up whole new career paths. Depending on how good Numb is, the peril of a Friends movie may recede faster than an Antarctic glacier.



Numb is also something of an autobiographical piece for writer/director Harris Goldberg, who went through the same situation as the film's protagonist, Hudson Milbank. To hear him speak of it in the commentary, the only reason why the film carries the usual 'no resemblance to any person, living or dead' disclaimer is to avoid attracting the litigating proclivities of a couple of very embarrassed psychiatric practitioners. True stories can be very hit and miss in the movies, and most usually head straight for Channel 5 lunchtime territory, but this is obviously a labour of love for Goldberg, something very personal, and as such is certainly worth closer scrutiny.

Hudson Milbank is a writer in Hollywood, part of a team where he is the salesman, and his friend Tom is the talent. The stress of the job gets to Hudson the way it gets to everyone, and to relax he tries a joint. Except he overdoes it and suffers an anxiety attack. From them on, it's as if a switch has been flipped in his brain and he develops Depersonalisation Disorder, a state of awareness that effectively leaves him numb to the outside world, makes him feel as if he is on the outside looking in, and has him doubting his own senses, the very reality around him. It's hard to function in society that way, and even with Tom doing his best to motivate him, Hudson remains withdrawn until he meets Sara Harrison while pitching a script. Her quirky personality actually jolts him back to reality, if only for a moment, and he realises that in his constant search for a soul mate, she may actually be the one. But if he is to have a chance with her, he's going to need a cure…

Picture

Henceforth Scanbox Entertainment shall be known as Pan & Scanbox Entertainment. I really thought we were past this nonsense, but no, even in 2008 we get intelligence insulting transfers like this. Apparently black bars are bad, so the 2.35:1 ratio image is cropped to a modern TV set friendly 1.85:1 anamorphic. And they kindly leave some of the movie clips in the featurette at the original ratio so that we know what we are missing…

…and edge enhancement.

Sound

The soundtrack defaults to stereo, so remember to select the 5.1 track before you play the film. The dialogue is clear enough, but the absence of subtitles is telling.

Extras

The commentary from Harris Goldberg is well worth listening to, especially as this film is basically a chronicle of his experience with Depersonalisation Disorder. Naturally the names have been changed to protect from the litigious, but it's a surprise to find out how much of the film conforms to Goldberg's experiences. He also talks of the need to make the film light and entertaining. This is one of the best commentaries I've heard in quite some time. It obviously helps if you are passionate about your subject.

Numb: An Inside Look last 19 minutes and is your usual EPK package designed to give a hint of the movie making process. There are your usual interviews with cast and crew, interspersed with clips from the film.

Finally there is the ubiquitous theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

Entertainment or realism; that is the question. Portraying mental illness on film is always a double-edged sword. There is still such a social stigma to it, that being utterly realistic risks alienating your audience. On the other hand, trying to play it light and fun risks the film descending into parody and missing the point altogether. Numb tries to tread a middle path, has it so that while Hudson may be going through his own personal purgatory, the events and people around him are enough to raise a chuckle or two. It's a sort of rom-com cum psychoanalysis, and I'm not quite sure that it pulls it off, although I certainly was entertained.

As such, it follows a rather familiar path of boy meets girl, courtship ensues with plenty of charming and humorous situations, along with deft expositions of witty dialogue, the boy screws it up with girl, mopes along for a bit, until joyful and chance reunion just in time for the requisite happy ending. The sole difference here is that the boy is on so much medication for the duration that he rattles. Matthew Perry is excellent as Hudson Milbank. The director basically had him switch off, he's not the fount of wit and purveyor of double takes that you probably know him best for. Instead he's subdued, understated, detached, and if there is funny about to happen, he lets it occur naturally. It's certainly a different side to his talents, and if you follow the actor it's well worth looking the film up for.



My problem is with the portrayal of Depersonalisation Disorder. It's telling that despite all the exposition explaining the effects, I never bought the character's suffering. Perhaps it's the decision to play the film light and comedic, or perhaps it's the nature of the disorder itself, but to my layman eyes it looked just like any other depression. Indeed, I shared the same useless opinion as that of Hudson's father, that he should 'pull his socks up'. Depersonalisation sounds like a horrible state to live in, especially given the explanation in the film itself. It's like the moment just after a trauma, a car accident or something, where the brain switches to autopilot, and sounds drain away, and you step outside yourself, only in depersonalisation it's a permanent state. The trick is to portray that well. I don't think, despite the camera effects and sound design, that Numb managed to pull it off.

Numb is an interesting and entertaining film though, and works just fine as a quirky, offbeat rom-com as opposed to a deep examination of psychological ailments. I'm sure as such Matthew Perry will be a significant draw. But he does add a few more strings to his bow here, and if it delays that inevitable Friends movie for a few more years, all the better.