Synopsis
Two young poets with bipolar disorder begin a highly passionate, volatile relationship that threatens both their futures.
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Cast
- Katie HolmesCarla
- Luke KirbyMarco
- Griffin DunneGeorge
- Bruce AltmanDonald
- Annie GoldenMotherly Patient
- Chaske SpencerMarco's Construction Boss
- Maryann UrbanoDr. Strinsky
- Christine LahtiSara
- Celeste LecesneMan at Book Reading
- Angela PierceBook Reading Attendant
Recommendations
- 90
The New York Times
Touched With Fire is an actor’s field day, and both Mr. Kirby and Ms. Holmes boldly meet the challenge of playing bright, high-strung artists struggling with depression. - 70
Village Voice
With high spirits and great tenderness, Dalio and his actors stir up what might be the greatest of youthful feelings: that as you get to know someone new, someone whose thinking rhymes with yours, you're also becoming ever more yourself. - 70
Variety
Potent performances by stars Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby, strong contributions by well-cast supporting players and an overall sense of understated verisimilitude offset the predictable aspects of the narrative. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Writer-director Dalio has firsthand experience with bipolar disorder, and his perspective sheds fresh light on the unique ways in which manic-depressive individuals experience love and creativity. - 63
RogerEbert.com
In her latest film Touched With Fire, she (Holmes) delivers a beautifully understated and moving performance. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
The film embraces ambiguity in the end, with a coda that places Marco and Carla on the same level but not in the same place. The scene's unsettled but peaceful mood seems an honest reflection of its characters' lives. - 50
Slant Magazine
The film is a thinly dramatized series of arguments against, then ultimately in favor of the medication of bipolar disorder. - 50
New York Post
This well-intentioned drama — writer/director Paul Dalio has spoken publicly about his own struggles — veers into a common pitfall of films that portray mental illness: Romanticizing it.
