By Austen Burks, Sports Editor
Directed by Terry McMahon, “Patrick’s Day” is an Irish film focusing on the stigma surrounding a person with no mental illness being in love with someone who suffers from a disorder. Patrick (Moe Dunford) is a warm hearted 26-year-old man suffering from Schizophrenia. When he falls in love with a flight attendant his mother does everything in her abilities to put the relationship to an end.
When Patrick gets separated from his mother during a birthday celebration he finds himself back at the hotel. There he meets Karen a flight attendant who plans to take her life, for reasons we never learn. Enjoying her last bit of pleasure she throws herself on to Patrick and takes his virginity. The following morning Maura angrily interrupts her attempt at suicide and reveals Patrick’s disorder.
As Patrick comes to realize his love for Karen in the coming days, his mother insists she knows what’s best for him having no apprehension about how she achieves it. Maura intensely manipulates her son and goes to upsetting lengths to make him get over Karen. Maura fails to see that she is doing more harm than good when she convinces doctors, and Patrick’s best friend that Karen was a figment of his imagination in result of him not taking his pills. Eventually Maura has Patrick treated with Electroconvulsive therapy or shock therapy, in hopes of erasing all memory of Karen. After waking up from the treatment he strikes his mother upon first sight and Patrick is subsequently strapped to the bed.
Without spoiling the ending, the film is worth the emotional heaviness.
This film gets my recommendation because I feel it’s important for people to be educated on mental illness and the stigma surrounding it. “Patrick’s Day” tackles the major social issue that love is blind, and that sometimes the only thing worse than hate is misguided love. “Patrick’s Day” is a romantic drama worth seeing. The film will leave you thankful for the life you live and the people in it.
