I Smile Back

Laney (Sarah Silverman) is part of what appears to be a wonderful family; a doting husband, two lovely kids living in a large, beautiful home. Those thoughts led me to the truth of it all as, Laney traveled into her personal abyss. The surprise is Silverman's performance. Best known for lighter, comedic fare: "Who's The Caboose?", "School of Rock" and "Wreck It Ralph", Silverman delivers an award worthy performance. I was fixated on her talents displayed here. Who knew that a primarily stand-up comedienne, could play such a difficult role so convincingly. Josh Charles and Thomas Sadowski are adequate in their roles, but this is Silverman's movie. Strictly for adult viewing and highly entertaining for those of us who are able to endure a dark drama, I do recommend "I Smile Back".

First I must state my perception, my image, my imagination of Sarah Silverman is permanently altered! Thanks a lot Sarah! From a wickedly funny actress to depressingly serious actress - all at once! Sarah Silverman gives a performance in 'I Smile Back' that will both confuse and unsettle her fans.

Thanks to Sarah Silverman and fellow cast members Director: Adam Salky and writer: Paige Dylan have successfully brought to the screen a story that is a look into the dark mental labyrinth of an upper middle class housewife and her marriage to a successful man that has placed great value on image. There is no real beginning and no defined end to this story. The doors are suddenly open to this family and we are given a slice of their life and then the door is shut. We the viewer will never know when Laney Brooks mental decay starts nor when or if it ever stops. We see her as she is at this moment in her life.

Laney Brooks (Sarah Silverman) wife of Bruce Brooks (Josh Charles) live a most above average life with two very young delightful children. All seems provided for - beautiful home, beautiful parents, a very high end school for the charming and talented children. BUT as the saying goes 'still waters run deep' and all is not what it seems to be in this idyllic setting. Laney suffers an unaddressed need in her mind that she and we cannot comprehend. There is a pivotal scene where Laney tells her husband that she has some things, dark things, to tell him. He in-turn doesn't want to hear this and surrounds himself with the children eating cake and cookies. He only wants the that which is sweet and nice. As seen in Laney's expression this is yet another hurtle she cannot cross.

Sarah Silverman offers a very mysterious and dark performance in this depressing story.

Very hard to watch, like Silver Linings Playbook but with less mania and fewer extremes. This is actually a plus, compared to SLP: her weaknesses lurk deeper beneath a surface of normalcy.

Excellent performances will appeal to an audience of actors while a relationship-laden story line will appeal to an audience of script writers.

Normally I am drawn to character studies as I have a strong appreciation for films that leave you caring about the characters and what happens to them. Somehow though, this time I find I can't recommend this film to my non-actor/non-scriptwriter friends. Maybe it rang so true, so plausible, so "normal," that the discomfort of watching these lives unfold outweighed the excellent performances of the players.

Movies can teach us about life- When I was a teenager I watched (experienced) Days of Wine and Roses. Jack Lemon was a great comedian, but his serious dramatic performance probably turned me and others away from becoming alcoholic.

I've always enjoyed Sarah Silverman's strong comedy which is grounded in hard reality. We laugh because we see truth in new ways.

Stephen King could not create a more wrenchingly emotional story about the horror of personal depression. And the danger of deceit, anger and unrelenting despair. There are things in life that can't be controlled and the real horror is when they come from inside us.

Sarah Silverman's professional dramatic performance is magnificent. I can't wait for more from her- drama or comedy or both.

I am a 28 year old male, and this movie touched on a lot of issues I have struggled with in depression, mostly drugs and continuing to be destructive regardless of how much pain it causes. I teared up many times in the movie, Sarah was excellent. If you are looking for a happy movie, this is not it, and if you didn't care about the characters in the movie you obviously have little to no sympathy for people struggling with clinical depression. This was a very realistic observation of how one finds it extremely hard to see through life's struggles, and how some people are just never see the light at the end of the tunnel.