MovieChat Forums > The Perfect Host (2011) Discussion > Poor treatment of psychosis.

Poor treatment of psychosis.

posted 11 years ago by LuvvieHowell
6 replies | jump to latest

I really like this movie, but one part bugs me...if Warwick is truly schizophrenic, and takes meds, ostensibly so that the voices and hallucinations disappear and he can function at work, then wouldn't he NOT have perfect recall of everything that happened? Would he really be able to act perfectly normal in front of colleagues, but then "switch on" the psychosis again at home?

Mental illness isn't something you can turn on and off like that.

Or...is it possible he KNOWS that the party guests aren't really there? For example, whey does he go from plate to plate, eating up their portions if he thinks they are REALLY sitting there having dinner with him?

[–] FinneousPJ 11 years ago

I get the idea he's a lot smarter than average and he knows he's not quite right in the head. The madness is sort of in control.

[–] TreeHuggerKyle 9 years ago

That crossed my mind too, but, if he knew they were imaginary, then he wouldn't have been taken in by John's story that he met Julia in Australia. He must have thought Julia existed, and was in Australia, otherwise he wouldn't have fallen for John's lie.

[–] weirdJ 8 years ago

As soon as John started showing symptoms of having been drugged, I assumed that Warwick knew from the beginning that John was lying about knowing Julia. But if it wasn't from the beginning, Warwick realized at some point that John was pretending to know Warwick's "friend." I just don't think Warwick was fooled by John.

[–] chas77 7 years ago

I don't think he was fooled for a second. I don't think he actually called Julia or the airline. Not sure about the exact nature of his mental illness but he must be aware on some level that these people don't exist. Maybe their "existence" fluctuates with his meds?

[–] nycishomexxx 7 years ago

Strikes me as a loner who overcame loneliness & found a way to turn his situation into something positive. He is smart, or at least the movie certainly tries to portray this. & he lives an unorathdox life, just playing games with others.

Life is just a game to this guy.

His walk says it all. Narcissistic & thinks he can get away with anything - because as a Police lieutenant
,AND a well spoken "logical" person, no one would suspect a thing

Didn't love this movie, but it is disturbingly real... .

[–] Freddyfan951 9 years ago

You can control the onset of certain (not all, probably) symptoms with medication. You are almost turning them off for while, or at least suppressing. If he takes the medication before going to work, his symptoms are subsided for while.But by the time he gets home hours later (which could be long, considering he's a cop), the medication may be wearing off. It's not on/off, it's just being managed.
My mental problems have required me to take various types of medication for years. You use them to get by, to have a limited control over something that will still be there regardless of what you do.