Synopsis
A former soap star appears to have a narrator stuck in his head. As he moves in with his sister and works to restart his creative career, he tries to figure out who is really calling the shots.
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Cast
- James FrancoJames
- Catherine KeenerCatherine
- Fallon GoodsonPatricia
- David StrathairnDelmar
- Alan CummingAlan
- Ken ScottNarrator (voice)
- Mary Beth PeilBlind Woman
- Ben GeorgePoliceman
- CarterOfficer Carter
- Jermaine CrawfordTeenager
Recommendations
- 58
The A.V. Club
All of the actors, including Franco, do excellent work, given the limitations imposed upon them by a scenario that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Were he a struggling up-and-comer rather than a movie star, the perception of an ambitious misfire like this one would probably be quite different. It’s not a good movie, but it deserves better than mockery. - 40
The Guardian
This is basically a studied and serious film, but there's a feyness to its tone, and a lethargy to its pacing that make it difficult to warm to, even if the principal actors give it their all. - 40
Film.com
Maladies is at least watchable, though just barely. - 40
The Dissolve
A ponderous, self-important character study swimming with red herrings. - 38
Slant Magazine
It borders on parody as it tries to portray its hero as martyrdom-bound genius, which makes the film feel as if it was made by Franco's vain, art-fetishizing character from "This Is the End." - 33
The Playlist
It only ever connects in the small moments that fall through the cracks of the supposed formal and thematic experimentation—when the fine actors are allowed to walk and talk like real human beings, rather than a collection of tropes. - 30
Variety
It’s hard for the audience to invest in a protagonist this solipsistic. - 30
Village Voice
The social construction of illness is certainly a worthy topic, but Carter situates his characters far from any semblance of a plot and even further from his heart.
