Story
Infinitely Polar Bear is set in Boston in the late 1970s. Cameron Stuart’s (Mark Ruffalo) life is falling apart. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Cameron is fired from his job and has a breakdown. His wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) tries to leave home with their two daughters, Amelie (Imogene Wolodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide). Cameron runs after them, dressed only in his underpants, and removes the carburettor from the car to stop them from leaving. Amelie and Faith watch from their window as their father is taken away by the police.
Cameron spends some time in a halfway house before he’s allowed to return home. Maggie wants the family to be reunited when Cameron is better, but insists they remain separated until then. When Cameron appears to be getting better, Maggie decides to get an MBA so that she can support the family. This means she must move to New York. Maggie thinks it will be good for Cameron to have responsibility for looking after the two girls during the week, and she will be at home on the weekends.
Unfortunately Cameron has problems looking after just himself. Amelie and Faith must do a lot of growing up to look after themselves and their father.
Themes
Manic depression or bipolar disorder; difficult childhoods; abandonment; poverty
Violence
Infinitely Polar Bear has some violence. For example:
Sexual references
Infinitely Polar Bear has some sexual references. For example, a woman in a lift says to Cameron that ‘most men would be quite emasculated having their wife as the main breadwinner’.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Infinitely Polar Bear shows some use of substances. For example, Cameron is a heavy smoker and drinker, which doesn’t help his mental condition. Maggie tells the girls he has a drinking problem.
Nudity and sexual activity
Infinitely Polar Bear shows some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Maggie stays on the couch overnight, and Cameron wants to have sex with her. He drops his head in her groin and starts to feel her breasts. They kiss, and sex is implied but not shown.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Infinitely Polar Bear has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Infinitely Polar Bear is based on the true story of a childhood affected by a parent’s bipolar disorder, as seen from an adult perspective. It does have some light moments, but not enough to relieve the intensity of the story.
Although the title and posters for the movie suggests a happy family movie, it’s important to know that this movie is likely to be quite disturbing for children and young teenagers. It’s more suited to older teenagers and adults.
The main messages from this movie are that children are capable of loving their parents despite their faults and that all human beings need to be loved and cared for.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include the importance of family and caring for others in your family.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues such as the following:
- Excessive drinking harms not only the drinker but also the people who care about them.
- Maggie is a victim of racial and gender prejudice. Is it fair that a business won’t employ her because she is a mother? Have things changed much since the 1970s?
- Does Maggie have many choices in trying to improve her family’s situation?
- Cameron is an irresponsible parent, but is it his fault when he isn’t mentally well?