JUNE 18, 2015
“Infinitely Polar Bear” is writer/director Maya Forbes’ slightly-fictionalized memoir of her childhood life with her own bipolar father. The film is told through the eyes of the two young sisters, Amelia and Faith, who alternately adore and are terrorized by their manic-depressive father Cam Stuart (Mark Ruffalo). Though Cam comes from Boston money, he is unable to hold a job and his rich parents are unwilling to give Cam the financial help which his family so desperately needs. Seeing her family fall deeper toward poverty, his wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana, underused, as usual) accepts a business school scholarship to NYU in hopes of getrting a better job for their family.
Unable to bring her family with her to New York, Maggie, with some trepidation, asks Cam to take on the responsibility of looking after the girls in her absence. Cam tries his best, but his lack of parenting skills with his daughters and his lack of social graces with everyone else soon dooms his effort. Let the bipolar antics begin!
The title “Infinitely Polar Bear” is from Faith’s malapropism for “bipolar,” and it’s just adorable. That’s the problem with the tone of the film in general — everything is just too cute. Yes, there are occasionally disturbing manic episodes, but most of the time Cam is just Wacky Daddy with funny hats and goofy ideas. Ruffalo, one of my favorite actors, tries hard, but Forbes doesn’t give him much help with the material. She even gives him a constant chain-smoking tic, which I presume is here because Forbes’ real father smoked. While it gives Ruffalo the chance to do a lot of actor-y business with his hands, it becomes wearily distracting as the film progresses.
There’s a great film somewhere in depicting the effects of a bipolar parent on a family. But Ms. Forbes’ memory film, however personal, ain’t it.
Grade: C+
