User Reviews

'INFINITELY POLAR BEAR': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A comedy-drama flick, about a bipolar dad, struggling to raise his two young daughters; while his wife tries to support their family, in business school. The film was written and directed by Maya Forbes; and it's based on her own life experiences (as a young girl, with a bipolar father). The movie stars Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide. It's an interesting, and well made film study; on mental illness, and how it effects loved ones.

The story takes place in late 1970s Boston. Cameron Stuart (Ruffalo) is married to Maggie; and they have two young daughters together, Amelia (Wolodarsky) and Faith (Aufderheide). When Cameron has a bipolar breakdown, he's fired from his job and put in a mental hospital. Maggie moves their daughters into a cheap apartment, in a poor part of town. When Cameron is released from the hospital, Maggie asks him to take care of their kids; while she goes to business school, in New York full time. Cameron agrees, and then struggles to maintain his sanity; while also trying to be a good father.

The film is a great examination of bipolar disease; and how mental illness effects family. Ruffalo is exceptional in the lead, and the two young girls are outstanding (as well); especially Wolodarsky, playing Forbes (as a young girl). Forbes' script is clever, and very thoughtful. Her direction is decent, but not anything too memorable. Still, it's a pretty impressive directorial debut.

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Despite being a little too by-the-book and repetitive,"Infinetly Polar Bear" is a pleasing piece of narrative that succeeds thanks to a brilliant portrayal and definition of characters.

As stated above the film isn't that fascinating or riveting of a drama. It hits the same note again and again and does not stray away from it almost anytime. It is generally predictable and the dramatic texture isn't as intense as it wants to be,it kind of hits you very light. Moreover there are situations that are overplayed a little too much in the beginning which gave the movie a hard time at getting started and being believable, yet fortunately it picked up immediately as soon as these couple of scenes ended. So to sum it up, it simply doesn't give the necessary gravitas and intensity (both comedic and dramatic) to the situation for it to be as riveting as a drama as it could have as it could have been and I should add that I think that the cinematography partially contributed to this: it doesn't have enough style or distinction for it to stick out, leaving it in super generic dramatic territory and palette and it has a variety of camera movements that get distracting and aren't integrated well enough in the story. It could have really sparked had their been some distinctive look and approach in my opinion.

Despite all of negatives above, this movie really succeeds in making you care about the characters, sticking with them and ultimately giving you a true emotional link. That is undebatable thanks to very good work from both Saldana and Ruffalo and especially the two girls playing their daughters. But even more than that I believe that in the end it is the script that makes you really care because of how well it defines characters, situations and overall story arch. There maybe not enough originality in storytelling or some non-clarity in the bipolar aspect of the film, but man do the characters stick out and make for a pleasant view and journey, culminating in a finale that got me more than I imagined.

'Infinitely Polar Bear' is a very charming Comedic Drama that focuses on Cameron, a manic-depressive father who (after his wife leaves to study in New York) is required to support his two daughters on his own. Now this is a very small film that many people would not have heard of but with two big leads in Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, you know that if anything you are going to get really good performances. This was overall a very dramatic, heartwarming, and at times emotional personal story that does delve into slightly darker tones here and there, as you would expect when it comes to the condition being explored in the film. These darker, more serious and dramatic scenes are made up for with the inclusion of some very well placed comedy that really does work to lighten up the tone and also make you laugh briefly throughout.

The performances in this film were all fantastic, especially Mark Ruffalo and the two children in the film, they just killed it the whole way through. Zoe Saldana did a great job with her role even though she isn't featured as much as Ruffalo and the children and was great to see her acting ability in something smaller than a 'Marvel' blockbuster. Ruffalo did such an incredible job at playing a difficult character with such a complex situation that if there weren't so many other great performances this year he might have snuck in a Best Actor Nom. He was incredibly convincing and portrayed all of the very contrasting elements of this very complex extremely well. He bought in great comedic timing to keep the film light and the way he acted, right down to slight hand movements and facial expressions was great to see how really into this character he was. Seriously there were moments in this film where he didn't even need to say anything, just the look on his face at times told me everything i needed to know about his current state and that shows off his incredible acting talent.

The two child roles could have just been typical, generic, annoying children who were just there to act as a device to further the plot. But holy crap they were both fantastic, and even came close to stealing the limelight from Ruffalo. The roles were played by two unknown children Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide, who had no other acting roles prior to this film. Now i'm not gonna be getting too excited about these two because one role doesn't mean you are a super talent, but they do show that they have the ability to act in really dramatic roles. These two roles contribute to much of the emotion of the film and seeing how they react and change throughout the course of the film was very interesting and it was fun just watching their transition over time.

In the end, the overall plot of the film is original and very straight-forward but it is the emotional journey of these characters and their progressive relationships that made this such an enjoyable movie. The very heartwarming and dramatic elements in the film were very fun to watch and i had a smile on my face most of the time, it even almost broke me to tears at one pretty emotional moment. The darker moments really contrast the lighter tones and were very sudden in their placement in the film, but the comedy that Ruffalo brings to the table helps to not get too dark. It was fun journey watching this families relationship and if you like heartwarming, dramatic tales, this is definitely an enjoyable worth your time. - 7.6

"Infinitely Polar Bear" (2014 release; 90 min.) brings the story of Cam Stewart (played by Mark Ruffalo) and his family. As the movie opens, we get a clever montage of 8 mm. footage from 1967 (how Cam and Maggie met in Boston and eventually married) on to the present (i.e. 1978). Cam is a manic depressive and he just got fired (again) on the first day of his latest job. It leads to an outburst and eventually Cam is put away. We then move to "six weeks later', where Cam is in a halfway house. Maggie is desperate to improve their financial situation and decides to do an MBA on a full scholarship at Columbia, leaving Cam to take care of their 2 daughters Amelia and Faith. At this point we're about 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: first, this movie is a labor of love from writer-director Maya Forbes (best known for her work on The Larry Sanders Show). She bases the story on her own upbringing and as such the movie is pretty much autobiographical. To make things even more authentic, she cast her 12 yr. old daughter (Imogene Wolodarsky) as her younger self (Amelia). I noticed in the movie's opening credits that J.J. Abrams is one of the executive producers. Second, I don't know to what extent the portrayal of the Cam character is an accurate reflection of being manic-depressive or bi-polar. Yes, there are the highs and the lows, and yes, there is the habit/need to never throw out anything and instead collect like hamsters do, but is that enough? I do not know. But it all looks quite innocent on the big screen, and no 'bad' things happen to anyone in this. Third, the four leading acting performances (Ruffalo, Wolodarsky, Zoey Baldana as Maggie, and Ashley Aufderheide as Faith) are all enjoyable, and the interaction between them feels authentic. Fourth, the movie, set in the late 70s, contains a treasure trove of period cars from the 60s and 70s. Check out the Peugot station wagon Cam has at some point, but that's just one example. Truly a eye candy for car aficionados. Last but not least, there is a terrific soundtrack, including both the original score (by Theodore Shapiro) and a bunch of songs (best of all, George Harrison's Run of the Mill, which plays at the conclusion of the movie and over the closing credits; and also China Forbes (of Pink Martini, and sister of Maya Forbes) bringing an excellent new tune called "The Northern Line", also playing over the closing credits).

This movie made quite a splash at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it's taken another 18 months for this to get a national release. "Infinitely Polar Bear" opened some weeks ago at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and apparently is enjoying a good run. The recent early evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely. If you are in the mood for something that could be quite heavy but in fact is brought with a light touch and a smile never far away, and you want to see something light years away from Hollywood's standard summer fare of action heroes, I might suggest you give this a try, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

This film tells the story of a man with bipolar disorder, who has to take care of two children while having unstable mental state.

I find "Infinitely Polar Bear" a realistic and in depth look into the life of a bipolar man. It shows his over-talkative state, his over- friendly personality and the disorganised home. The interaction between him and his children is touching, especially the fact that they accepted the father's embarrassing behaviour. Even if his behaviour is eccentric, he is portrayed to have the best intentions. The wife's support is also very touching. I find that this film is a positive and supportive portrayal of a man with a serious illness.

I just loved this movie. The movie is about a father who's suffering from manic depression and is trying hard to win back his wife's trust. Mark Ruffalo did a great job acting as manic depression suffering father. This movie really is a brilliant piece of art for me. I recommend this movie to everyone and watch this movie ones, you won't regret it.

Maya Forbes writes and directs a personal story of bittersweet childhood living in livid conditions with her sister, mother and eccentric bipolar father. A landmark first feature that has enough laughs but loads of conflicting emotions.

Zoe Saldana is a strong presence with her loving/loathing/longing and everything in between character. The ideal mother of her time and circumstances and the wife a man would fight for.

Mark Ruffalo is at the centre of it all with his charming, childlike and exuberant portrayal. He masters the manic episodes, the frailty, the fears, the hopes, the joys and the underlying deep love for his wife and kids.

The kids, one played by Maya Forbes's own daughter, are really adorable and act at a very high calibre. Creative, funny, aware and awkwardly accepting their weird family antics with a touch of rebellion.

Ultimately most of the credit is due to Maya's inventing and passionate storytelling in its form, content, message and lasting meaning. A film that is very human and difficult, but finds glimpse of beauty in little things that we should all hold dear.

An easy but complex crowd-pleaser with much meat and mastery for the critics and film aficionados.

Cam Stuart (Mark Ruffalo) is a manic-depressive in Boston. During another episode in 1978, his wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) tries to leave with their daughters Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide). He is institutionalized. Maggie is forced to seek work in NYC leaving Cam in charge of their kids. His manic behavior is a constant source of embarrassment to them. His rich family keeps most of the fortune away from him. It's a struggle but the kids find minor joy within their father's mental issues.

Mark Ruffalo is good and the girls are natural. They have a nice chemistry. The narrative doesn't really have a drive to it. It feels more like a real life unfolding. There aren't jokey moments but there are funny moments. It has a lived-in feel like a real family struggling with issues. Most of all, it has Ruffalo.

This incredible actor is given full reign in a film which capitalizes on his ability to be both sweet and intolerably infantile. I am a fan!

I laughed a lot and I really appreciated insight into the world of bi-polar craziness depicted with an even hand and so much love. It was also a skillful depiction of a chaotic 1970's childhood.

This is the director's first feature film, but she knocked it out of the park. Although I would say that casting Mark Ruffalo as a Boston WASP is improbable, it worked for me. The scenes of his extended family are worth the price of admission alone.

Zoe Saldana makes the move possible as she loves everything about Mark Ruffalo that anyone does. I do not know Mark Ruffalo, but I know that he is smart, good-looking, interesting and an exceptionally warm person. The miracle is that this film-maker can tell the story of a difficult youth without any rancor and with insights which are subtle, heart-breaking and hilarious.

The children in this film give it great authenticity. I vote for them!

First of all, how did they come up with the title? Was it based on a bi- 'polar' abnormality? Probably! I think this is an excellent movie depicting a family working through 'problems'. All families have some sort of 'problem' or 'challenge' that they either choose to stick with overcoming or give up on. This movie shows us how to relate to some of the problems that families undergo. I recommend this movie to anyone who might be struggling with mental disorders and disabilities because it's a daily and moment-by-moment 'emotional' battle for many in our world. Depression is very common and some people even die from it. What keeps us from that depression is a strong will to focus upon what makes us at our best 'happy' life? Many of us do not know where to put our focus, but if you want to be here in a body, you have to find ways to get through the emotional battles that plague us. This movie is a perfect example that will show you how a family can raise their children and still find some mental and emotional stability through it all. It's a great movie for 'dads' to see and take notice of how 'Mark Ruffalo' handles things. Many dads will resort to alcohol, but that only makes things worse for most because of the depression affect of alcohol. But during his episodes, he never hurts or harms the family, which is the best part of this movie in my honest opinion. I love it because of the 'real life' struggle that affect so many here on earth. Kudos to the writers and if this really was based on a true story by one of the writers, they should have let us know. I don't doubt that is WAS based on a true story, regardless of whether that was known or not.

Mark Ruffalo stars in "Infinitely Polar Bear" along with Zoe Saldana, Imogene Wolodarsky, and Ashley Aufderheide, from 2014, directed by first-time director Maya Forbes. Forbes is a very talented woman I hope to be seeing more from as a director - she's already an established writer and producer.

The story takes place in Boston in the late 1970s, where Cam Stuart (Ruffalo) lives with his wife Maggie (Saldana) and their children, Amelia and Faith.

Cam is bipolar and job problems lead him to a nervous breakdown. He is institutionalized and then moved to a halfway house. Though he comes from a wealthy family, the money is in a trust. Maggie has a tough time making ends meet. She decides to get her MBA and wins a scholarship to Columbia.

Cam is doing okay on lithium and is more on an even keel, so Maggie has him move in with the kids while she goes to New York for eighteen months, returning home on weekends. Her plan is to return to Boston after school and get a good job, which has eluded her thus far.

It's a tough adjustment. The place is in disarray, Cam constantly embarrasses his kids for either being too friendly with the neighbors or hanging out with them and their friends, not to mention driving around in a pathetic car.

What a wonderful movie told with such warmth and humor. The acting is wonderful all around. Both Ruffalo and Saldana are totally likable, and the kids are great - not cloying at all. The title comes from the kids misunderstanding the term "bipolar."

Definitely worth viewing - a wonderful film.

There was a short piece in The New Yorker last year that made this one seem like a sureshot; it mentioned, among other things, that when Wes Anderson heard the story of writer/director Maya Forbes's childhood, he told her to forget about everything else and make this movie. Twenty years later, here it is. It's obviously a labor of love, and I'm a little reluctant to find fault with it. However...

I can see why Forbes cast Mark Ruffalo as her father, Cam, a Boston trust funder who'd been diagnosed as bipolar years before (that's where "polar bear" comes in). Cam was tantrum prone, moody and unstoppably eccentric (way past the standard movie "quirky"), but Forbes wants us to see the side of him that her mother fell in love with and his children were clearly devoted to. Ruffalo's an unselfconscious, immensely likable actor, and he's rarely let us down, but this time he doesn't seem to have much of a handle on his character.

He basically plays Cam as an amped-up version of his normal exuberant self, but he sometimes speaks in an affected stagy voice--unclear whether that was Cam doing bipolar shtick or Ruffalo trying out an accent. All in all, I really couldn't see him as the black sheep of a Boston Brahmin family, let alone a guy who'd be tempted to sing along with a bagpiper busking in Harvard Square. (Forbes got one of her cousins to play a partner in the family brokerage firm who talks with the authentic Back Bay honk; the city of Boston itself is played by Providence, RI, a little less convincingly.)

Forbes's daughter Imogene, OTOH, gives a great performance as her mother's 12-year-old self, but Forbes's mother, played by Zoe Saldana, comes across as oddly generic. Overall, there are some entertaining moments, but despite its powerful subject, "Polar Bear" didn't really engage our emotions; the script just seems like a series of disconnected episodes-to be fair, I guess that's the way that most of us who aren't Proust or Charles Schulz remember our childhoods-and the film doesn't pick up much momentum as it goes along. Long story short-watchable but disappointing.

Living with a bipolar father proves difficult for two young girls when their mother has to move away to study in this comedy-drama blend set in the 1970s. The title comes from the youngest daughter misnaming her father's condition as "polar bear" - thematically relevant as the overall film is about the two girls learning to accept their father's behaviour beyond their own preconceptions, appreciating what he does do well. From such a description, the film might sound overly sweet, and in a way it is, only ever seeming to skim the surface, focusing only on how embarrassed the girls are by their father's inability to integrate into society. There are a couple of moments in which the girls genuinely seem afraid of what their father might do, but the film never tugs at the full experience of living with someone with mental issues; as others have said, Mark Ruffalo comes off as more an everyday eccentric than a manic depressive. That said, Ruffalo's performance is the film's best asset, frequently communicating a genuine interest to bond with his daughters and care for them in small, subtle ways. His facial expressions and movements convey more than his dialogue and it is easy to feel for his frustration at not being able to be everything that his daughters want. It is much harder to reconcile the film's blanket negative attitude to the US public school system throughout, but it does act as an acceptable symbol of all that the girls' parents are worried about, and the film does offer an acute portrait of parents doing what they can for their offspring, even if it falls short in other areas.

It's quite a challenge for a film to portray a character with mental or emotional problems and be entertaining, without disrespecting people who suffer from the same or similar problems. Filmmakers can choose to take the issue very seriously, like co-writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland did with Alzheimer's disease in 2014's "Still Alice" (with her performance in the title role winning Julianna Moore the Best Actress Oscar) or just play mental deficiencies for laughs, as the Farrelly brothers and their teams did with the "Dumb and Dumber" movies. Rarely will a filmmaker attempt to have it both ways, as writer-director Maya Forbes does with her semi-autobiographical comedy-drama "Infinitely Polar Bear" (R, 1:30) – and it's rarer still to meet the challenge with such skill.

Mark Ruffalo is Cameron and Zoe Saldana is Maggie, a married Rhode Island couple with two spunky daughters named Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) and Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky – Forbes' real-life daughter). Cameron suffers from bi-polar disorder. (His daughter's mispronunciation of his condition is the basis for the movie's title.) Cameron is a loving husband and father, and most of the time, with the help of his devoted wife, his condition is manageable. While she's at work and he takes care of Amelia and Faith, most of his misadventures come off as no more serious than the struggles Michael Keaton's character has in "Mr. Mom" (1983) or in any other similar movie or TV show. But that's not to say all this doesn't sometimes raise concerns. When Cameron has a breakdown, Maggie, worried for the safety of their daughters, takes the kids and leaves him. Cameron has to live in a half-way house as he recovers.

When Cameron is well enough to leave the half-way house, he takes an apartment on his own until Maggie is comfortable with the idea of him moving back in with the family. She doesn't know how long that will be, or if that day will ever come at all, but personal finances force her hand. Maggie feels that she has to do something to improve her family's situation. She decides to go to business school in New York City. She asks Cameron to move back in with the family and take care of the girls while she's away and she'll come home on weekends to check on things. Cameron is anxious to get his family back together, but he's also a different kind of anxious about being the girls' sole caregiver five days a week. To be honest, there's plenty of anxiety to go around in this situation, but this plan seems to be the best option for the family long-term and Amelia and Faith are old enough to more-or-less take care of themselves, so they all give this plan the old college try.

"Infinitely Polar Bear" is a small, but entertaining movie with a big message. Ruffalo and Saldana have an easy chemistry that is a joy to watch. They effortlessly cover the range of emotions that tell this story. The girls who play their daughters add a significant amount of spirited fun to the film. This movie is in the spirit of TV's "Modern Family". We see a mixed-race couple in non-traditional roles, kids with a lot of personality and real-life problems that are played for laughs, but also touch the heart. At times, however, the story seems to drag a bit and the amount of adult language used (often times around the girls) is unnecessary and disappointing for a movie with such a strong and otherwise family-friendly tone. Still, this film's sweetness, fun and positive messages carry the day. "B+"

Cam (Mark Ruffalo) loves his two daughters and his estranged wife, Maggie (Zoe Saldana), in 1978. The only problem is that's he's bipolar and therefore an unreliable husband growing worse and an eccentric dad whose out-there actions threaten to unbalance pre-adolescent Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderhelde).

Not to say any of his family is the worse for his bizarre world; in fact Maggie relies on him to be with the girls when she goes from their home in Boston to her MBA scholarship at Columbia for 18 months. As could be expected, he teaches them how to be creative and self-sufficient and excellent communicators. The mess he lives in, his chain smoking, and his alcoholism serve as blocks to a normal life, not to mention strange but amusing behavior difficult for anyone to endure over the long haul.

Maggie married Cam, both of them from privileged families, in the '60's when bipolar was almost indistinguishable from hyperactive or manic-depressive, and, hey, many were tripping out anyway, so how could you notice the bipolarity? The red bathing suit and bandanna in one scene, all he was wearing as he gamboled around his family inside the car, is enough of a red flag to signal his instability.

As Maggie studies away from her family and after graduation gets turned down by a Boston firm because she has children, new writer-director Maya Forbes reminds us how much things have changed over the decades since then: women now more easily gain jobs and assume at least co-bread winning roles in the family. Although the times were heady, the challenges of the young and poor were many.

Mark Ruffalo plays such a nuanced role here that I would energetically support this nomination for an Oscar. His many classy roles, notwithstanding his success with the mainstream Hulk in Joss Whedon's The Avengers (2012), have signaled him as a potential winner and certify him as one of the finest actors of his generation.

Infinitely Polar Bear is a winner for this year.

There are two reasons to go out of your way to see this movie. One is its focus on the effect of mental illness in a family setting. It's openly autobiographical - the father of writer/director Maya Forbes and her sister suffered from bipolar disorder - which lends it a sense of authenticity. On the other hand, I wonder whether Ms Forbes might have gained something by putting the story a little more at a distance from herself, perhaps updating it to be a contemporary piece. I expect her mother would still have a tough time getting the kind of job she wants: that kind of sexism is still very much with us, equal rights acts notwithstanding.

The second reason to see the movie is Mark Ruffalo, who is amazing as the afflicted father, Cameron. That sounds as if it might be a flashy performance. Not the case. The reverse, in fact. Mr Ruffalo IS Cameron for the duration of the movie. He really is one hell of an actor. Line up his work here with that in Foxcatcher, or The Kids Are Alright, or You Can Count On Me: all related, but subtly different and completely convincing.

He is very well supported here by Zoe Saldana as his wife, along with Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide as his daughters. They make a convincingly troubled but loving family unit.

I wish the film held together better than it does. It doesn't feel as satisfying as I suspect Ms Forbes set out to make it. I don't really know why. Maybe there's an uncertainty of tone: the story follows the facts, and maybe that isn't helpful in helping us understand the issues. Maybe it needed, as I said above, a bit more distance. All the same, it is a commendable movie in many ways, certainly worth seeing, especially for Mr Ruffalo.

I watched Infinitely Polar Bear just based on the high rating it got on IMDb. I didn't read any reviews before watching it, because most of the time I don't agree with most of the reviews when it doesn't have much reviews to begin with. So purely based on the high rating I watched it and at the end I can understand that people like that sort of movies. But for me it's just not my kind of soup. I am not a big fan of drama's. A bit of comedy yes, but there was not much to laugh about in this movie. Mark Ruffalo is supposed to play a manic-depressive father but to me he is just an eccentric person in this role. Nothing more, nothing less, certainly not bipolar or whatever you want to call it. The actors all did their job, nothing bad to say about them. The story is just not entertaining enough for me to be remembered. At least not to me. I will forget everything about this movie in a couple of weeks.

I had no expectation before watching this movie, and i'm very glad that i did. there weren't a moment where i didn't have a smile on my face.

Mark Ruffalo was very remarkable. this is probably his best acting i have ever seen. the kids in the movie were also incredible. they reminded me of my little sisters. Although i felt that the movie was a little short, that's probably why i also thought this was a brilliant piece.

In conclusion, it's a very good family entertainer but i would suggest you to watch it once before anyone watch it with their family with young kids.

Thank you for such a wonderful movie. i'd never regret if i watch it again. Please do give us more quality movies like this.

Ruffalo is terrific as whimsical, child-like Cameron. In fact the whole cast is wonderful at carrying across this tale of family tensions and mental illness. Some great scenes and light-hearted dialogue make sure that it never gets serious for long. "Unhand my foot!"

I can't say enough good things about this movie. The dialogue and situations are so real. Made even more real by the amazing acting jobs, particularly Mark Ruffalo and Imogene Wolodarsky. This feels like a real family and is indeed based on the writer/directors life. Although the movie is based a story that is in many ways very sad, there is also many moments of laughter and joy for this family. So although you often feel sadness for the characters, it is still a joy to watch. I highly recommend this movie. After finishing this movie I had to immediately look it up to see if it was based on a real story because watching it, you just know it has to be. If you have grown up in a family that had to struggle in any way, you will relate to and find joy in this movie.

This was a great portrayal of mental illness in mainstream society. Mark Ruffalo plays it well with sincerity.

From a strictly review on the story line, content, performance and direction, this movie should have put Mark Ruffalo in the category of Tom Hanks. This film is a project Hanks could have done and easily been nominated for Best Actor, as Ruffalo should have received.

While Ruffalo has made a nice living in the film and TV business, he is still not a household name. What a shame. For the numerous years he has been working in Hollywood, enabling him to live in a nice neighborhood and drive great cars, he is unrecognized by the average person until his stand-out roles are mentioned.

In the film Infinitely Polar Bear, Ruffalo has shown his audience he is capable of strong leading roles that can warrant Best Actor nominations. His history shows he co-stars opposite major headliners, but he is secretly a headliner himself. That role has not presented itself yet.

This film depicts the life of a Manic-Depressive. If you have lived with someone who has it, then this film will definitely hit home. If you have not, this film portrays only a "glimpse" of what takes place in the life of someone with mental illness, well written by Maya Forbes and portrayed by Ruffalo.

Ruffalo deserved an Oscar for this performance. He showed many different sides of a person with mental problems. You hated him at times, felt sorry sometimes but loved him for the sweetness and struggles he had inside.

I first really noticed him in Spotlite, but will not forget him watching his under-appreciated performance in Infinitely Polar Bear. He is a Best Actor performer waiting to happen.

On paper, Infinitely Polar Bear looks like a true to life family drama, centered on uncomfortable themes and despair-drenched ripple effects. Yet as the credits roll, I was astounded by the film's overall charm in large part due to heartfelt performances by the outstanding Mark Ruffalo, who perfectly balances a father's love and the nuances of manic depression, & the ever radiant Zoe Saldana, the true heroine with unending fortitude and grit. The daughters, played by Imogene & Ashley, were superb as well in their unhinged interactions with their mentally unstable father, providing low key humor and upbeat energy throughout. Overall, although the film touches on poignant themes, the portrayal was through rose colored glasses where characters are mainly driven by warmth and sincerity. Happily, the same can be said of the film in its entirety.

Everybody does a decent job in 'Infinitely Polar Bear' except for the screenwriter, who never develops a genuine narrative arc for her film. After a brief introduction which depicts the mental breakdown of an ex-Harvard student called Cameron, a couple of minutes are spent glossing over the period he spends in institutional care, while his wife Maggie struggles to raise their two young daughters as a single mother.

The story begins for real after Cameron is released and starts living in a halfway house in the Boston suburbs. When Maggie is accepted into an MBA program in New York, she asks him to take over housekeeping and parenting duties while she's absent, and Cameron moves back into the family home with their children. Unfortunately the threesome's chaotic life together is portrayed with a limited palette. The film soon develops a enervating tedium as it rolls out a repetitive sequence of similar scenes documenting how the two girls cope with their father's mood fluctuations. This shortcoming is exacerbated as writer/director Forbes depicts only the surface symptoms of Cameron's mental condition, and offers a formulaic feel-good resolution at the end. Manic depression deserves something better than this glib treatment.