Veronika Decides to Die

2009 "For Veronika, confronting death... is discovering life."
6.3| 1h43m| R| en| More Info
Released: 21 August 2009 Released
Producted By: Velvet Steamroller Entertainment
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.veronikadecidestodiethemovie.com/
Synopsis

After a frantic suicide attempt, Veronika awakens inside a mysterious mental asylum. Under the supervision of an unorthodox psychiatrist who specializes in controversial treatment, Veronika learns that she has only weeks to live.

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Dale Haufrect An absolute winner is "Veronika Decides to Die", a 2009 independent film with at least five production companies in the credits. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is Emily Young. The writers include Paulo Coelho (book) and Larry Gross(screenwriter). The cast includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jonathan Tucker, Erika Christensen, Florencia Lozano, Rena Owen, Erica Gimpel, Victo Slezak, Barbara Sukowa, Victor Steinbach, Melissa Leo, David Thewils, Virl Andrick, Jeff Applegate, Lisette Bross, Mathew Cowles, Jill Dalton, Meg Gibson, Holter Graham, Nicolette Hart, Ward Horton, Jessica Kaye and Amanda LaPergola. The story revolves around a young woman who is depressed to the point of suicide. She is told that she has but one week to live because the drugs she took to kill herself have induced an aneurysm of her heart. Her struggle is intriguing and I gave this short film 8 stars. Dale Haufrect
Gordon-11 This film is about a young woman who attempts to kill herself by an overdose. She is admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment, and another chapter of her life enfolds.The book "Veronika Decides to Die" has a good word of mouth, and its author is world famous. So I thought the film would be good, and chose it for a film night with friends. It proved to be a disastrous decision. The film is so slow, tortuous and pretentious. There is so little material so they have to stretch everything to fill up the ninety minutes of screen time. I mean, how long do you have to watch the characters walking down a corridor or staring out the window? My friends started making excuses to leave about half way through, and one hour into the film, all seven friends have left. That's how boring "Veronika Decides to Die" is. My friends who have read the book said this adaption does not do the book justice, and there are seemingly pointless additions in the film. So, if you want yourself to be touched by the story, read the book instead.
tieman64 "All healthy men have thought of their own suicide." – Albert Camus"Veronika Decides to Die" stars actress Sarah Michelle Gellar as Veronika, a young woman who decides to die. Why does she decide to die? Because life, she thinks, sucks. Why does she eventually opt not to commit suicide? Because life, she realizes, is a gift worth living.Gellar turns in a very good performance, but the film's script is condescending. It does not trivialize suicide – director Emily Young treats Veronika's pain with sympathy – but trivializes the existential questions which provoked Veronika's turmoil. Namely, what constitutes a life worth living? Isn't Veronika's solution (sex with a hunky guy) just a temporary biological solution to a metaphysical problem? How does Veronika rationalize participating in a culture which she views as being immoral and rife with hypocrisy? If life's a gift, why can't it be refunded? Why is suicide seen as an individual problem and not a valid response to a social problem? Why is it the individual's responsibility to adapt and not society's responsibility to change? Ultimately, films like this deny any possibility of a social causation of mental illness, a stance which allows multinational pharmaceutical companies to peddle drugs which often trap their subjects in a cycle very similar to that which instigates their mental "illness" (in the film Veronika is not ill, but simply hyper aware). This myth of mental illness encourages us, moreover, to believe in its logical corollary: that social intercourse would be harmonious, satisfying, and the secure basis of a "good life" were it not for the disrupting influences of mental illness or "psychopathology." 7/10 – Worth one viewing.
kshitij (axile007) The first thing: I have not read the novel so this review is purely based on the what I saw on the screen, indifferent of how its being adopted from the book. And again Sarah Michelle Gellar scores with her performance as an innocent girl. I think she was the best suited for this role. So before discussing the story, which I guess most of you, would be acquainted with I want to talk about the direction which was the strength of the movie. The movie is not at all boring and characters are well handled .There were given a chance to fit in their respective roles. So I liked the acting and conversation between the characters very much. But still I can't say that the movie is flawless.As I finished watching the movie I found myself pretty satisfied with acting, story and movie overall. But still I get a feel that something was missing in the movie something that could have put this one in different league of top movies, the kind of movies which are award-worthy. One thing was lesser publicity, but leave that reason behind ...truth is maybe I could not digest the whole plot. Let me make myself clearer and discuss the storyline.Veronica (SMG) is a suicidal girl, she unsuccessfully tried to kill herself and was later admitted to a mental institution(kind of) for recovery. The doctor and other staffs of hospital tried to change her mindset and make her believe that life is worth living. But why she wanted to die? What she was expecting from her life, that she did not get? What happiness exactly meant to her? Was she seeking only love in her life? May be you wont find the proper answers to these questions ,but considering the fact that movie is purely based on the novel it wont be appropriate to question the storyline of the movie. So for me watching this movie was a nice experience.