MovieChat Forums > Dirty Filthy Love (2004) Discussion > fellow sufferer

fellow sufferer

posted 20 years ago by BigJobMan
11 replies | jump to latest

As a fellow sufferer of Tourettes syndrome, I empathised completely with Mark. I have always been able to laugh at myself, and thus found some of his afflictions extremely funny, especially as some of them were exactly the same as ones I have, or have had, myself. I remember as a child I was always doing the boy scout salute, and there was a stage when I would take a step backwards for every couple of steps forward, much like him going up the stairs. I also did the great big grin into the mirror (still do), really stretching my face, no matter how depressed I may be. Michael Sheen did a wonderful job. I suppose the appeal of this film will be to fellow sufferers, and everybody else will just dismiss the 'hero' as a nutter, but to me it was a very moving and funny drama, and my thanks go to the film makers.

If it's a boy, do you think it will look like Rodney? It doesn't matter as long as it's healthy!

[–] joannedawson 20 years ago

My brother started showing symptoms of Tourettes when he was about 12. He has been through lots of different types of tics, some of which were portrayed in the programme. I found it hard to watch at times, but it was good to see OCD and Tourettes in the public eye. It has always been really hard to find out much about what can be done or what the latest treatment is. Anything that can change this can only be a good thing. I know that it is hard for those who suffer from OCD or Tourettes, but it is also difficult for those around them.

[–] red_red_robyn 19 years ago

My brother also suffers from Tourettes and OCD, but I was on my gap year last year and so missed the film being shown on TV. I caught a clip of it on the BAFTAs (I think) and realised what the main character was suffering from, based on my experience of my brother, but haven't had a chance to look it up until now to confirm what I thought. Sorry to give you that rather boring background . . . but basically I was just wondering if you knew where I could find this film? I mean, I assume it was a made-for-TV drama and therefore, are those sorts of things available to buy or rent? I'd be fascinated to see it and don't know if it'll be repeated on television any time soon.

If you haven't already seen it, "The Aviator" is a very interesting look at somebody who suffers from OCD. Although my brother doesn't have the obsession with cleanliness, just seeing his descent into what was effectively madness was incredibly sad and touching, and really made me understand my brother more. I wonder if you might find that of some interest as well.

It's great to know that you are able to deal with your situation so well. My brother is 17 and was diagnosed when he was about 11 or 12 (if I remember correctly) so he's not yet had the experience of living with it as an adult, in the "real world", if you will. I assume that you're an adult, from your post, and hearing about people who live normal lives with something like this is always heartening to learn about. He's currently doing his A-levels and I and the rest of my family have no idea what he'll do when they're finished.

"You people. If there isn't a movie about it, it's not worth knowing about, is it" - Dogma

[–] BigJobMan 19 years ago

Yes I am a rather advanced adult! Fortunately, I have shaken off most of my "twitches", through sheer will-power. I did go to a psychiatrist when I was about 11 and he stuck me in Queen Mary's Hospital for children for 6 months! That did nothing and the follow up therapy also did nothing. I was put on tranquillisers which didn't do anything except turn me into a zombie. So will-power it had to be. I still do a few dodgy things, but fortunately I usually manage to disguise them. I have never had the swearing affliction, though. Best wishes to you and your brother, I really have no advice to offer.

If it's a boy, do you think it will look like Rodney? It doesn't matter as long as it's healthy!

[–] evilbibo 19 years ago

I too am an adult with Tourettes and mild OCD. Sadly this is yet another movie that portrays Tourettes as the swearing/barking syndrome. The swearing & barking only occurs in about 5% of people with Touretes. I don't swear or bark and most people don't notice my twitching. Now grade school and middle school were hell with all the teasing, but what kid didn't get teased about one thing or another in school. Anyway I'm now 39 and have not taken any meds for Tourettes since I was in my early 20s. I was told prozac may help but have not tried it yet.

[–] pdcantwell 18 years ago

Nick, If you haven't read it already, try Skull Session by Daniel Hecht. I haven't quite finished it, but the detail on TS and related neurological troubles and treatments is fascinating to me. Hecht is known for ghost stories and this book seems to be heading that way, but I think that he is showing that there is some supernatural in nature already. I have trouble reading nonfiction, so I hope the references in this fiction are accurate.

[–] shelgr3 18 years ago

Sorry, but I think this movie is complete nonsense. It belongs to the genre of "sympathy" movies: the point is to induce the audience to feel sympathy for a narcissistic protagonist whose behavior is utterly insufferable. If we take Mark's behavior at face value, then he was seriously ill & needed to be hospitalized & given medication until he was stabilized. He should have been on medication long before the story began, which would have prevented the need for hospitalization. That kind of illness cannot be cured by sympathy. The notion that all he needd was the love of a good, self-sacricing woman is sentimental claptrap intended to absolve him of responsibility for seeking approprite treatment. I'm sure he was correct when he told his wife at the end that he had always been that way -- he was a narcissistic jerk, & probably always had been.

Incidentally, the reversal between him & his wife at the very end, with him walking away & her begging him to come back, is a standard feature of this genre, & it's totally unrealistic. She probably would have & certainly should have called the police, in which case he might have gotten the treatment he needed.

[–] cameron2610 18 years ago

I'd have to disagree with you. First, I don't think any unacceptable means were used to provoke sympathy, just a realistic story. Second, his illness wasn't cured by sympathy. In fact, he was at his worst at the end of the movie. There was a brief moment of sanity at the very end, but that doesn't mean he was cured. Third, his wife was oscillating between revulsion, pity, hope, etc. just as many people do in a separation. At the end, she called him back because she felt pity. Finally, you say he should have been on medication before the story began, but life is not so structured. Regardless of what you think should happen, what does happen is totally different, and movies like this portray what does happen.

I thought this was a great movie, portraying complex characters and invoking lots of emotions without seeming contrived.

[–] janb43 15 years ago

I was a bit concerned that in 'real life' if someone so ill (regarding mainly the part where he wasnt looking after himself, hygiene, medication, nutrition etc.) had been left to 'just get on with it' as he had then they had been seriously let down by family, friends, medical professionals etc. As someone who works voluntarily in mental health I would certainly be concerned if someone I was working with had deteriorated this much and would have to intervene. Sometimes people might slip through the net but he did have people around him, he wasnt alone.

[–] bigdoggy_dog 15 years ago

Not everyone is the "nursing" type. Some people can't handle that type of responsibility in looking out for a person, even if it is a close friend. People in the medical field are a special type that have that ability, not just for people they are close to, but for anyone and everyone. You say you work voluntarily in a mental health institution. You are probably one of those people. Please don't assume that everyone has that same ability and will that you have, and don't put them down because they don't either.

My point is that even when you have people close to you, depending upon the problems you have and how severe they may be, those people that truly do care about you may not be able to handle looking out for you. It scares them. And unfortunately people such as the one in this movie get left alone.

[–] Nemhain 13 years ago

I have tourettes and ocd, with far worse tics than Mark has, and similar ocds. I do NOT need to be hospitalised, and never have, even pre-meds. In fact, I am planning to come off my medication soon. My point is that you can live like that, in a way that seems impossible to someone who doesn't suffer from these disorder. It just is normal to you. I have friends and have had boyfriends, and am now a happy, stable, relatively normal girls in my 20s, despite the horriffic symptoms I have been living with all my life. Not all people with tourettes/ocd need to be hospitalised, and many don't even need meds.

[–] WaywardVictorianGirl 14 years ago

I loved this movie as I know someone with pretty severe OCD and I love them to death and feel for the stuggle they have to go through everyday because of it.

Filthy victorians, they made me what I'm made of No H8