Touched with Fire

Inspired by his own struggle with bipolar disorder, writer-director Paul Dalio's Touched with Fire is a sensitive story of two mental hospital patients—manic/depressive writers—whose art is fueled by emotional extremes. Carla (Katie Holmes) is a published poet. When she first meets slam rapper Marco (Luke Kirby), Carla derides his artistic pretensions. Marco worships manic painter Vincent Van Gogh's The Starry Night and he quotes Lord Byron, “We of the craft are all crazy.” In group sessions, Carla challenges Marco's assertion that bipolar disorder has influenced the creativity of many artistic geniuses. Yet at 3 a.m., these insomniacs meet in a deserted art studio and talk about escaping to the distant planet they've come to believe is their real home and parenting a yet-to-be-born miracle child. When the medical staff realizes what's happening, the pair are separated and their respective caring, concerned parents (Christine Lahti, Bruce Altman, and Griffin Dunne) try in vain to keep them apart. When they eventually move in together, Carla and Marco re-create Van Gogh's masterpiece on the walls of their apartment. The film's title refers to psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison's 1993 scholarly study, Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. While Kirby and Holmes emote with conviction, some of the plot feels quite improbable, and although this is a serious exploration of sanity and creativity, the film's near absolute lack of humor weighs it down. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by writer-director Paul Dalio and cinematographer Kristina Nikolova, a “making-of” featurette (10 min.), a conversation with Dalio and clinical psychologist Dr. Kay Jamison (5 min.), a deleted scene (2 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven drama.] (S. Granger)