MovieChat Forums > Half Broken Things (2007) Discussion > Wishful thinking versus a delusional dis...

Wishful thinking versus a delusional disorder

posted 16 years ago by downtownblah
2 replies | jump to latest

When I watched this for the second time, "folie a deux" ("a trois," in this case) came to mind. Jean certainly was easily able to get Michael and Steph on board to be the family she never had. Then it spun out of control when the return of the owners was imminent.

I guess I am unsure Jean was crazy or really felt she was dead at 60 already and had nothing to lose. The first few minutes where she was residing in a boarding house with several older women became very significant in context to the rest of the film. She was homeless, without family and soon-to-be jobless.

At the same time, she lived a life devoid of significant relationships. She stated she gave up her life to care for her ailing mother but perhaps caring for her mother became a convenient excuse for not having a life, if this part is even true at all. She believed she truly understood how a house breaths, her special gift, supporting her having a delusional disorder.

So desperate and manipulative or delusional?

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] andromache3 12 years ago

Probably a combination of both. She lived in fantasy land most of the time. Pretending that the house was hers, telling people in the village that her children were coming to visit her, when there were no children. Pretending that Steph and Michael were her children. The whole thing was sad and depressing, you just knew that things wouldn't end well.

"When we make mistakes, it's evil. When God makes mistakes, it's nature."