I AM NORMAL | Omeleto

A woman pretends to be mentally unstable to be admitted to a secret psychiatric experiment.
I AM NORMAL is used with permission from Olia Oparina. Learn more at oliaoparina.com.
Keira is part of an experiment: though she's perfectly fine, she's being sent into a psychiatric ward to test if the doctors and nurses can accurately detect her fake diagnosis. She also has an agenda of her own: she wants to find out what happened to a friend she knew, who was in the same ward and supposedly died by her own hand.
But Keira's time in the ward goes unexpectedly, even after she acts normally. She finds those in charge of her care to be unresponsive to her entreaties and pleas. Instead, they're authoritarian, cold and sometimes cruel. Soon Keira realizes that she may be trapped, with her sanity hanging in the balance.
Written by Anya Bay and directed by Olia Oparina, this absorbing short drama takes its inspiration from the famous Rosenhan experiment. Conducted by Stanford professor Dr. Daniel Rosenhan in 1973, participants in the experiment feigned hallucinations to gain entrance to psychiatric wards but then acted normally afterward. The intent was to test if wards could distinguish a wrongful diagnosis.
Like the timeframe of the real-life experiment, this film takes place in the 1970s, and has the look and feel of rebellious Hollywood cinema of that time, with its muted, faded colors and textured cinematography. The film was shot by cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who tragically lost her life on the set of the feature film Rust.) The excellent writing fully takes on the premise of the experiment, which has plenty of inherent dramatic charge.
But the emotional tempo and temperature of the film are more exploratory, focused on Keira's interactions with the hospital staff and the tenor of the ward in general. What Keira discovers is a cold, unfeeling place, less interested in treatment, care and therapy and more concerned with achieving compliance from its charges. Patients are forcibly drugged and are otherwise treated disrespectfully. More importantly, we see how patients are dehumanized, reduced to their psychiatric labels and treated deplorably.
The initial dramatic question is when Keira will be discovered as normal. But as the narrative unfolds, actor Nora-Jane Noone's performance slowly reveals how her treatment by the staff and hospital policies ekes away at her sense of self and autonomy. The dramatic question then shifts to the price that Keira will pay for her time in the ward. By the end of the film, we see just how her time in the ward, and its callous cruelty to those it is charged to care for, has affected her.
The Rosenhan study was a landmark experiment that brought issues of wrongful involuntary confinement and psychiatric diagnosis to the fore. But I AM NORMAL draws a compelling, disturbing portrait of what happens when we are defined by a diagnosis, and how it shapes how we are seen and treated. Though the film and experiment took place in the 1970s, we still live in a world where a mental illness can define who we are to an unhealthy extent. The stigma can affect how others see and treat us; it can erase the nuance of who we are. And as Keira learns, it can erase our humanity, leading to depression and helplessness. It makes one wonder if true insanity is found in the cruelty that society doles out to those most vulnerable and in need of care.

[@kestrelfeather]

Rule number one . . . never volunteer to do crazy stuff.

[@bstreetbistro]

As I was told by someone involuntarily held in a state psych ward in the mid-80s, "The last place you want to act crazy is in here." One of the most profound statements I ever heard.

[@derekwilson7453]

Say less

[@JoshPhoenix11]

You don't always have to volunteer, the CIA did MKUltra trauma based mind control experiments on people without consent and without their knowledge. They also did it to entire cities of people by secretly putting lsd in the water supplies. Im being completely serious.

[@canadianbutt2759]

more like, tell other people what you're doing before doing something thing "dangerous".

[@ThereIsNoOtherHandleLikeMine]

Tik tok

[@Shimi9418]

my favorite part about the real experiment this is based on is that the real psychiatric patients knew the ones who were faking better than the hospital staff, glad it was in here too

[@EMILY-xc5ju]

but she wasn't real

[@caitthecat]

​@EMILY-xc5ju There was a journalist in the early 20th century who did this same thing.

[@Gurl-5150]

​@@caitthecatNellie Bly.

[@mipe7755]

Maybe the patients should participate in making the diagnosis...

[@CraigerAce]

She's not the first, nor the last, person to be more screwed up by the mental health "profession" after receiving its "care" than they were before. I liked the film, thank you.

[@einienj3281]

Depends on what kind of quality the care is.. I felt a lot better, almost back to normal..

[@ruesurnameunimportant4816]

@@einienj3281 you're the lucky minority, so i'm glad for you.

[@DeidresStuff]

Treating people for illnesses they don't have will always have consequences.

[@oxycotine]

Thats me. I was way worse after my time in pyschiatric ward.

[@Knightgil]

Involuntary commitment is an atrocity and a crime against humanity. Whoever thinks mental hospitals are healing in any measure should probably commit themselves into one as they're suffering from a really serious delusion.

[@Tony-xj8lp]

I got chills when I seen her talking to herself.

[@hlorisomashilo7938]

😂😂 glad to know I'm not the only one.

[@bdel80]

I figured it out before then, so I wasn't surprised

[@adamjay2ndward]

it was kind of obvious when it built up to that situation

[@DK-nv9zu]

Same!

[@nadiarey4196]

Ikr, exactly

[@michaelcooney7687]

2 places you never volunteer to go … hospital and court..!

[@maxpayne930]

U are correct THEY are actually crazy cos they believe in to authority the most dangerous superstition of them all👽👻

[@ninarene7982]

What a plot twist at the end... gave me goosebumps

[@cahidijoyoraharjo7833]

So did I. She became mentally ill. For real this time.

[@nataliewilliams9741]

Me too

[@themacocko6311]

Predictable.

[@trublu2556]

Really great twist..The Dr. and fiancee are seeing things. Brilliant

[@Stillcantthinkofaname]

@@trublu2556 No they're not , that really is the friends invisibility coat

[@EcoNeato]

My assessment: She entered normal, made a new friend who tried to kill herself with a glass shard (similar to her best friend, but we don't know how her best friend committed suicide) and was put in a straight jacket causing the normal woman to have new PTSD. In order to cope with the PTSD, her mind created her new friend who she met at the end, thus a new psychotic condition of over imagination to cope.

[@gemstar7286]

The fish in the fishbowl was the perfect metaphor sadly

[@naimahq8739]

Truest comment ever written

[@anonymouslearner2454]

And the scariest part is now the doc and the facility would have evidence that she actually isn't well and they were right all along and that their practices are totally fine and they passed the experiment 😔

[@bastymanguy]

No, her imaginary friend who broke fish bowl is the same girl she spoke with at the end. So anytime she spoke to her ‘friend’ meant she was having an episode. Like when her ‘friend’ chased the car for instance, notice how that was odd. So what you wrote was inaccurate.

[@anonymouslearner2454]

@@bastymanguy OHHH 🤯🤯🤯 Very interesting But I think OP's take can also be true...

[@whoisharo4689]

This reminds me of all those criminals who try to get the insanity defense. As most of them have no idea how much worse that sentence is than actual jail.

[@taraxacum]

If you've ever read the book or watched the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, that is the exactly the point you describe.

[@HannahTrapeze]

Actually many people who do commit crimes Do have legitimate mental health issues of one sort or another. There are many, many problems in our current systems. If we did more preventative care, it would be better for everyone... Also this is a period piece, things have evolved, who knows what they're like now tho...

[@LabGecko]

@@HannahTrapeze They are not great. They still focus on income more than patients, and as another commenter said 'find' new diagnoses when a person's insurance runs out on one.

[@CAMBY608]

i think the workers get so desensitized in there to what they have to deal with that they couldn’t distinguish the difference of true psychosis and pretend diagnosis…not sticking up for them, but maybe a refresher course or something put in place so they won’t become so jaded…it was heart-breaking… :(

[@elizabethtrainer9732]

A "Refresher course?" Imagine you or a loved one being treated at a time where they are most vulnerable, treated by THESE people, the ones who are "Desensitized" to the suffering of their patients...you want THESE people to simply take a "Refresher" course...in what, HUMANITY?

[@Omega0850]

Yea, i think its very human to instinctivly protect yourself, and build an inpenetrable emotional shield around you. Those that can do that, will keep working in such wards, those that can't, because they are too empathic, will rather sooner than later leave...

[@hookbeak2321]

I was told by a former psychology teacher that psychologists, doctors have to periodically undergo counselling to reset their minds, otherwise they might end up, as a patient in their own ward. Stands to reason really.

[@baguettelauncher8839]

@@hookbeak2321 interesting

[@gemstar7286]

I face palmed hard wen she kept trying to convince them that she's "not insane" , the more people do that .. the more 'crazy' they are seen as .

[@jacobzaranyika9334]

Things are NOT always as they seem from the outside. Instead of professionally figuring out she was "normal" after all, they assumed she wasn't and she shouldn't be taken seriously. They failed in their duty of care. Prejudice made them abuse her into a condition she didn't even have to begin with, instead of correctly figuring out, diagnosing if at all she wasn't ok and treat her condition. That place served to manage the mentally ill, not to treat them (a bit like how schools are failing our kids). They didn't do their job because they refused to believe from the beginning that any of those women were worth treating. They were never "human" enough to care for and rehabilitate in the first place. So of course, they turned an otherwise mentally well person, mentally ill. They made things worse for everyone. There was never going to be any treatment to come out of those institutions, run the way they were. That system threw people away as soon as there was the slightest indication they needed help. They never stood a chance. She "normal" as she was, never stood a chance either. PREJUDICE! Interesting story. I didn't there was a real experiment on this subject before. I will look into it.

[@JamesSmith-jq2jc]

Ya, and I think the powers that be are doing the same to humanity. They are the cause of mental illness, from despair to a lack of empathy. To be narcissistic is a favorable trait. I could go on and on about it. Evil, mentally sick people want to infect the rest of humanity with their perversions.

[@moosethompson]

I agree with you. Unfortunately from what I've seen things haven't improved much. The main thing now is with modern social engineering and pharmaceuticals it isn't necessary to keep the patients in residence. Housing people is generally not as profitable now.

[@hadleysdancingyoutubechann1691]

Damn u wrote a book

[@isabellewhite3505]

Your views are detailed and briliantly described!

[@codeXenigma]

This film is based on a real experiment. There were a group of scientists who all went into different hospitals. The plan was to get admitted with claims of hearing voices, nothing else and then the next day say they were ok. Some were held for months before being released. It worked in exposing some huge flaws in the hospitals. It lead to a lot of mental hospitals being shut down, replaced with care in the community. It's a lot harder to be admitted into a mental hospital these days.

[@hcutter]

The mental healthcare system has always been flawed. Some patients are locked away for good without given a chance to be properly treated. Others are discharged too soon. There is not enough compassion towards those with issues beyond their control and insurance dictates too much in the decision making process. If things don't change a lot more people will continue to be hurt and suffer.

[@Ocelot923]

proper treatment and compassion are not the same thing. emotions cloud judgement and leads to inaccurate diagnosis. its why doctors are unadvised from diagnosing themselves or loved ones

[@RosieWilliamOlivia]

Humans are deeply flawed. Everything we do is flawed and when it comes to health care a lot of what's done is for personal or financial gain above all else. I've been seeing therapists on and off for 30 years (since I was 11, my parents were very abusive and sick people) and I've only met a couple who didn't have huge egos and some level of a God complex. Even the most well meaning see themselves as *above* others. I see therapists as useful to a degree but they are just tools in a box and individually only good a a few things and not good, usually, at seeing their own weaknesses.

[@LabGecko]

@@Ocelot923 emotions cloud judgement in attempting to diagnose personal relationships, but compassion is compatible and necessary to be able to understand others' viewpoints. A person with no compassion is a psychopath themselves.

[@josephkrehel9813]

If you're not crazy going in, you're crazy coming out! 🤪

[@tareklegrand7747]

If you're crazy going in, you're still crazy coming out.

[@thaisnogueira6317]

College?

[@jeffhansen9908]

Wound up in a psych ward a few years back due to unmanageable panic attacks. Felt like prison. No attempt to address the issue and no ability to get out. Having close family and threatening legal action helped. I still struggle with panic but fear seeking help is tantamount to being thrown back in that prison

[@damien1781]

Therapy works and this drink it’s gallon of water then Himalayan salt lemon and cayenne . It takes your anxiety almost all the way away for good but it takes a week. Gallon or half everyday for 7 days you can KZbin it. My anxiety is almost completely gone but I have my days when I’m hung over that’s it. That’s very rare

[@marih3286]

I love it when the plot is original and intriguing. Thank you Omeleto for giving us more than Netfix and Disney!

[@trustnooneatall415]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@febrieze]

this is basically Nellie Bly's Ten Days in a Madhouse which is based on true events from 1887. she was a journalist who went undercover at an insane asylum on Blackwell's Island because of the questions surrounding the asylum because no one knew what went on there since no one really came back. she was able to expose the asylum and raise mental health awareness for her time from the articles that were eventually published into TDIAMH

[@LegionOfWeirdos]

WOW! Having worked in healthcare and mental health, I knew about how mental hospitals used to be and knew about the experiment... I followed along knowingly for the whole film, and I think that set me up for not seeing that ending coming.

[@snookies1224]

Yeah nah, we all saw that ending coming. That was the simple prediction.

[@robinvsdk]

Having been in a number of mental health facilities in the past 10 years. Most are still as bad as was shown in this short film.

[@IndrasChildDeepAsleep]

@@robinvsdk Same, I second. Don't see any improvement from the example shown in this film. I will never forget how I was treated like less than human in those places

[@deucedeuce1572]

This happened in real life. A doctor pretended to be a mental patient to get admitted and prove that any person can be "labeled" and "diagnosed" as mentally ill (and then drugged and/or admitted, even forcefully) and that going to different doctors will give different diagnoses (opinions)... but they ended up not letting him out after he came forward to tell them of his experiment and it took him a very, very long time to fight them and get out. (when he harmed NO ONE). He committed no crime (outside of the fraud) and had no trial, but he was held against his will for over a decade (I don't recall how long it was before he was finally released).

[@LabGecko]

@@deucedeuce1572 all of which makes it clear that the "care facilities" care more about money than patients. That they would kidnap people (legal definition of being held against one's will) to protect their income says it all.

[@codeXenigma]

I remember reading about this experiment, some of the scientists were kept for months. I don't think any of them developed a mental illness from their experience, that was a good plot twist for this film. I grew up in the 70/80s when mental health was considered shameful. Mental hospitals were portrayed as worse than prisons with movies like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. My mum worked as a gardener in our local mental hospital before they were shut down and replaced with care in the community. The stories she told us were scary, one old lady had been admitted as a baby because she was blind. The history of mental hospitals is shocking (pun intended) with inmates often used for medical experiences. There are reports of hospitals shaving their heads to sell for wigs in the Victorian era, some hospitals opened like zoos so the public could laugh at the loonies. It's not a perfect system but there has been a lot of progress with how mental health is treated these days.

[@gemstar7286]

I had a feeling she would leave with a mental illness, it's not exactly a nice warm environment to be in . And the nurse came across like a witch and the other staff members just wanted to control her , she was in that place for over a month and was injected and treated like she was a danger to herself , they also treated her like a naughty child by not letting her go outside after the fish bowl incident . So that's enough to send anyone crazy.

[@ofangelsflipz]

I'm sorry but the ward in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a resort compared to jails/prisons.

[@pteppig]

There is a difference, between normal people without any medical knowledge or past traumatic experiences and medical students that were admitted as part of the experiment. People with background knowledge can see through the mind games they play - but also look out for themselves and help themselves to dealt with those experiences. Normal people are just defenseless and have neither a coping mechanism for mistreatment nor any knowledge why those things happen and why some "hospitals" always "find" new diagnoses in the ever growing book to keep the insurance payments coming.

[@Not_Always]

psychiatry is a scam and 'mental health' is still treated completely wrong.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

The way the experiment was conducted doesn't make sense. A psychiatric diagnosis is made by a patient's reporting of symptoms. She reported symptoms of schizophrenia and was then diagnosed with schizophrenia. That is exactly the way it is supposed to be done. The doctor was correct when he said “The symptoms she claimed she had referred to the schizophrenia.”

[@ArielCotton]

As someone who has gone to many mental hospitals in todays time just for a reboot. I just needed to isolate and be away from society only ONE doctor of the dozens in two different states and several counties has ever actually listened to me, took me off a bunch of meds I had no business being on and noticed I was misdiagnosed. I still don’t know that man’s name and I want to hug and thank him every day. I’m classified as Bipolar but I am not I just deal with a lot of PTSD and depression and it manifests the same way. Except bipolar ppl do it for no reason they have a chemical imbalance. PTSD is trauma response

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

I'm glad you were helped by him and sad for you that you can't find him to tell him. Maybe we can just assume that as he saw you progress, he knew he was helping you. He obviously cared and I bet he remembers and is happy to have been there for you. I'm so sorry that you have to go through that.🫂

[@GothGuy885]

I have heard of cases like, this but with children. perfectly normal, but misdiagnosed with mental disabilities and placed in a facility . they slowly became truly disabled from being treated as such in this atmosphere. ☹

[@lindsayb7811]

My father was schizophrenic. He passed away at age 72 in 2007. The hell he imagined was better than the hell he endured in psych wards.

[@Topazman12]

Have a contact on the outside to get you out in emergencies. Even an invisible friend.

[@Different_Not_Broken]

Nora - Jane noone is a phenomenal actress. Especially in The Magdalene Sisters. That plot twist at the end though 😳

[@charlamiller3900]

Am i correct in thinking the woman running towards the car which pulled away and didn't take her away- was a nod/acknowledgment of the (scene in the) Magdalene movie? Remember she had asked the delivery driver to come and be her get away driver for her escape? And she had gotten out only to watch in horror as he drove away having gotten cold feet.

[@infjgirl3850]

I knew I recognised her from somewhere! She’s a great actress

[@GradKat]

Love that actress; haven’t seen her since The Descent. This movie reminds me a little bit of the 1956 Fritz Lang film Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Dana Andrews plays a journalist opposed to the death penalty, who deliberately frames himself for murder so that he can expose the weaknesses of the judicial system. Turns out he really was the murderer …..

[@MisterY81b]

You missed "12 feet deep". Another claustrophocic thriller.

[@MW-us3sv]

Yes it's an old movie, no I might never watch it. Oh but I know the ending anyway now, so no need to anyway.

[@Omega0850]

It makes you wonder if Nancy was real in the first place. I mean, i was confused when she broke that fish glas, and when the warden came in, he completly ignored her... maybe he just focused on Kyra and didn´t see her, but maybe she just wasn´t there...

[@saikouhero3607]

nancy commited suicide. didn't you notice, she hide and picked the broken glass. keira is devastated of losing a friend. traumatic events can have great impact on mental health.

[@gemstar7286]

Yeah i wondered if Nancy was real , but it looks like she must have killed herself with the glass shard . And Keira won't accept that she's died. as it's similar to her friend Nina's death. That's probably why she sees her wearing the same coat aswell , because they both died tragically in the psychiatric hospital.

[@spritefulazeezah1268]

Nancy had the same orange coat in the end as she did when Cara first saw her, chasing a car. It depends on what you’d like to agree to. Either she started seeing Nancy at that time or it was after Nancy died for real.

[@owenstauble6370]

Nancy was hiding in the shower stall when the nurse came in, and the nurse was less inclined to notice Nancy anyway, because she was preoccupied with Kiera.

[@wamz9191]

@@owenstauble6370 Nancy doesn't exist.

[@josephraymondabara5488]

my take: when u stay long enough around certain people or community you begin to slowly but surely adopt their culture and absorb attitudes like a sponge until such a time comes you involuntarily become one of them. stay away from toxicity

[@williebeamish5879]

Good observation, and I do believe you are correct in so many ways! If just from my own experiences and observations over the decades in a variety of cultures, environments.

[@DocBree13]

Mental illness doesn’t equal toxicity

[@DeepBlue7]

@@DocBree13 Exactly *smh*

[@LabGecko]

Joseph, you do realize the toxic people in this film were the 'caretakers', not the patients right? This is also often the case in real facilities, especially those with a profit motive. Generalizing people with mental issues as toxic is contributing to the problem.

[@josephraymondabara5488]

@@LabGecko so i think you misunderstood my point. i never generalized people with mental issues as toxic. I never used the words patients. If you watched the video you would understand when i said certain people. You can clearly see that the patients with mental issues are even the victims in this clip. They are not getting better, because they are around people (caretakers) who are toxic. you have rightly stated the problem was the care takers. they are the toxic people that's why I said "certain people or community" . so the toxic people are not the people with mental issues pls and again WHAT YOU INSINUATED AND WHAT I SAID ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT with context from the video. The people with mental issues are also victims as you could clearly see.

[@ladycourttales2720]

I lived it. If you survive it and see the truly ugly truth in society, than you are strong. It took years of hanging on and failing - to divine intervention and sheer will that I’m here today. Stronger in my knowledge and fine alone even surrounded by people. The whole experience wizened me to the world’s ugly ways and I try and maintain peace in that and squeeze joy in the now.

[@Stillcantthinkofaname]

No they don't

[@kranzonguam]

Glad that you made it through!! Take good care!

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

@@Stillcantthinkofaname Who don't what? This reply doesn't make any sense.

[@Stillcantthinkofaname]

@@user-wh5ir4fo4r Shh we can hear you

[@VitaInDC]

This can't be good: the impact of a normal person taking anti-psychotic & other psychotropic meds for 6+ weeks. I suspect that being taken off of them suddenly upon discharge caused her to hallucinate in the last scene.

[@anonymouslearner2454]

Or maybe she started hallucinating since day 5 itself

[@mothmanlives7212]

@@anonymouslearner2454 Could also be her reacting to the strong sedative they injected her with the night before

[@anonymouslearner2454]

@@mothmanlives7212 Ohh right! I forgot about that... But still I'm not sure if sedatives can produce an effect like that..

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

@@anonymouslearner2454 I've taken sedatives and no. They just make you tired.

[@Sas-rf9sy]

This was so beautifully done. The actress also captures the character perfectly. I have lot of thoughts on mental health facilities and their socalled care. If you are normal going in, you may come out sixk. Their territory, their rules. Once you are admitted into a facility, they can do to you what they like. Nobody is there to monitor or regulate them. The law exists in theory. Abuse of power also happens. They know your weaknesses and what buttons to push. That said, yes mental health issues do exist and yes they should be treated. But not all issues need the patient admitted. Sedation and medication are chemicals and their side effects can be detrimental. It's heartbreaking and chilling when she is hugging the air and talking to herself at the end.

[@MotionlessKnight]

Luckily, I don't think there is a place quite like this around where I am. I have bipolar, and I've been in a psyche ward a few times for having self-harming issues, but it's always been a smaller place and they found me a better medication and released me in a week. I've never experienced one of these places where they just want to keep you and/or are abusive, thankfully.

[@hookbeak2321]

My ex tried to harm herself in front of me, I just grabbed the knife from her, she's in a better place now: New partner & they had a baby girl a few years back, she seems much happier.

[@MotionlessKnight]

@@hookbeak2321 I'm glad to hear that

[@Dobrymolodets]

In LA they just dump you to Skid Row 😂

[@barbraharvey9251]

I must admit that I actually laughed when I read that there wasn't anything like this in your area. I hope that is true but call me cynical I feel there is. I'm extremely happy that you are finding good care.

[@MotionlessKnight]

@@barbraharvey9251 Legitimately. Idk if good care would be the term, but not like that.

[@carcher3279]

Thank god that they saved the goldfish... I was relieved to hear that, such a shame to see it flopping on the floor.

[@MrsS3lfDestruct]

I loved this. I got sucked right in and I now want to learn more about the Rosenhan Experiment. Thank you!

[@KutWrite]

This, the Milgram and Stanford "Prison" Experiments, Kinsey, Tuskegee... there were a bunch of such hideous experiments that scarred many people... but the "doctors" figured, "What the hey, we've got the data, might as well use it and make a few bucks."

[@user-wh5ir4fo4r]

So do I and it's 1:20 am and I have to be up in 7 hours. Darn you, Omeleto!

[@sventer198]

People with mental health problems get ignored like this too today. Stigma is a terrible thing 😢

[@Panwere36]

They made her crazy.. that is sad.

[@tenpenny1550]

I immediately thought "what if this lady isn't real" then she wasn't. Lol. Very nice movie.

[@dragonindistress]

I need a movie version of this.

[@sskeetiers]

girl interrupted

[@cobbetlprogrammer1344]

Very Cool. The duality is : Either a Ghost or All in her mind? Bravo!

[@balajiedlyngdoh8366]

What a rollercoaster ride of emotions that was

[@jamesmorgan1063]

Distinguished actors with a twisted chilling psychological climax. Had me totally fooled but fully engrossed.

[@AMYBIERHAUS]

"One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest", "Girl, Interrupted"... definitely on par with these! Thank you! ❤

[@ytubewatcher3]

I always think all humans can relate to powerful craziness in their minds. They just ignore and pretend to be "normal"

[@behindmyblueeyes99]

Why do you think so?)

[@snookies1224]

@@behindmyblueeyes99 because ... everyone has those feelings of being crazy. We just don't act on them

[@maxpayne930]

The ''nomal''is just euphimism for average

[@natalianikitina9446]

Cara signed up for this experiment because she was emotionally involved in the situation with her friend who ended up with self harm in a similar clinic. Cara truly believed that her friend was not mentally ill and ended up there by diagnostic's mistake. When Cara met the girl they played with the fish, she subconsciously saw her dead friend in her. Cara felt that she must "save" a new friend because she didn't save her besty. And at the end we can see her mixed hallucination from the past and the present . P.S. Cara didn't declare to the researcher that she was emotionally involved, which caused the experimental bias.

[@owenstauble6370]

No, this is not at all what was depicted. Watch it again.

[@ohheyemmi]

Watch it again, this time pay closer attention when the "friend" is the only one who takes a cup from the tray rather than being handed one. Notice how no one reacts to her at all, ever. No one ever really acknowledged the friend outside of Cara. Then at the end we see thats because the friend isn't really there, either because she never was and Cara is still having trouble coping with the loss of her friend or because she has been so traumatized by what happened inside. I was in and out of those types of institutions as a teen and it is truly awful. Many of these severe diagnoses like schizophrenia or DID are triggered by/created to cope with severe trauma. It is entirely possible that her treatment inside was traumatic enough to trigger hallucinations, but the way I read it was that the friend in the coat is a projection of Cara's friend that died, which is what caused her to volunteer for the experiment to begin with. Most patients inside will say they feel better or whatever and its almost taken as more confirmation that you're sick. These are truly vile places. I went to HS in a town with one that closed down in the 80s I think in the midwest. Every year the farmers would find bodies in the corn fields surrounding because people would escape and just get lost and die. It was also a place where they did tests on people by injecting them with malaria. In HS it was abandoned and already turning into a suburb. I went back a few years ago and its a VA hospital and the graves of the many many dead inpatients were hidden under overgrowth in a field far from the main hospital. Manteno State Hospital in Manteno, IL if you're interested.

[@wamz9191]

@Natalia you might need to rewatch it.

[@lizziem]

As a student nurse, I did 2 placements in psychiatric units. One in patients and 1 outpatients. My first observation was that it was challenging to tell the difference between the staff and the patients. My second observation is that it is scary how quickly reality seems to become distorted.

[@dandeliondreamer3365]

Creepy! I was a psych undergrad (this century) we were required to let the grad students practice on us for experience in order for us to graduate…it’s pretty commonplace in universities…a lot of the undergrads were scared of this, most being teenagers who have never received counseling and some who had never even been to a doctor’s appointment without a parent before…it’s outpatient, nothing compared to your professor locking you in a 70’s “asylum” but I wonder if the writer’s interest came from a similar place. 🤔 I love the ending, and makes it more movie-like rather than just laying the story out in another historical doc. 👍 great job!

[@funkblack]

At the end as they were walking away I was like 'what did a just watch?' then the end gave me chills.

[@helenanikitopoulos9086]

so this girl she created in her mind as a way of coping with her best friend's death. She feels guilt for not being there for her so she tries to help this other woman who is a figment of her imagination (hence why the red coat is a coat her best friend used to have)

[@Brian169016]

Nice twist at the end. The mind is a very complex piece of machinery, and only now are people realising just how vulnerable it is.

[@trublu2556]

So the Dr. and the fiancee are seeing things...Great twist..

[@beththompson2188]

lol 😂

[@CristiNeagu]

It is a common theme in movies and TV to depict hospital conditions that would make any sane person mad. It is hard to see how such conditions would make a mad person sane. I know that there are a lot of issues with the care given to mental patients. But since movies often exaggerate and get creative with reality, I do have to wonder if it's like that in actual hospitals. Either way, we need a better way to handle mental patients.

[@stregahex]

Nope. They are worse than this film. Swear To God. I was hospitalized after I tried to commit suicide once. I was there two days straight & on the third, my family took me out of there. This film (in the 1970's era) is pretty mild compared to the experience I've got there in just two days in 2005. We all slept in one room with mattresses on the floor guarded by two nurses inside a bulletproof glass cubicle in the middle of it. Women of all ages from mild depression, to post-traumatic disorders & lots of drug addicts with violent behavior were all "sleeping" together in that same room. Also the same thing when it comes to us taking fast baths in a huge place with no doors or anything for the sake of privacy. You can't imagine the things I saw in just a few minutes. Most of those ladies got physically mutilated bodies, from mastectomies, horrible caesarian procedures, burns, to hematomas, cuts, etc. Situations like those proofs showed me the reason why these ladies " ended up here". And still, we were all treated like a drove of cows. Our routine consists of waking up, breakfast, pills, sleep, waking up, lunch, pills, sleep etc..., while nurses scream and treat you like a pest, no matter if you are in a passive mood, thanks to the excess of the narcotics on each meal you are obliged to take. And during the afternoon the doctor's consultation is as generic as this film presents. Unfortunately, the Medical Comunity has no intention to help anyone but them$elve$. So yeah. it is worse. Does it mentally or emotionally help me? Absolutely not.

[@zaptainkuboom5520]

You have to remember, the more mentally ill there are the more money that comes in. Also, to 'cure' a patient, would result in less money flowing in to the system

[@CristiNeagu]

@@stregahex Worse than I feared...

[@stregahex]

@@CristiNeagu Yeah. 😟

[@stregahex]

@@zaptainkuboom5520 Exactly.

[@hookbeak2321]

This story is a little too close to home. My Italian girlfriend (r.i.p 'L') was in-and-out the local psychiatric ward for a month at a time, she had paranoid schizophrenia. She was given Olanzapine injections at home by a community nurse who visited once a week. The sad side to this at 27 she died supposedly of a heart attack, there was strong legal defence at the inquest, it was left an open verdict. She did drink too much coffee & smoke roll-ups, but I was never convinced this was true.

[@rozy.pink.delight]

I had gotten this prescribed as well and it caused me to gain 10kg in one week (which is a common side effect of psycho pharmacys) but it also made my nose bleed once a day. Out of nowhere. I told them it was because of the medicine but they brushed it off and said that it couldn’t be, since there are no records about it causing such a side effect. I did not have nosebleeds regularly like this before so I instited to stop the medication with that and the sudden nosebleeds stopped as well. I am very sorry that it went this far with your girlfriend and you have my deepest condolence 🖤

[@Medietos]

@@rozy.pink.delight The nose vessels are extra thin and sensitive; do you think it made all your vessels thin/frail?

[@rozy.pink.delight]

@@Medietos hmmm I don't know. I always thought it might have had something to do with my blood pressure. Like it got higher and thus the vessels broke regularly (maybe daily even.)

[@DocBree13]

I’m so sorry for your loss ❤

[@bsfbestshortfilmsonyoutube]

Very good film. This reminded me of how religon caused my psychosis. I'm still not 100% free I don't think I ever will be.

[@ferdinandcastagnera794]

This movie shows how some people can develop a sick mind, when they are around other people who are truly mentally unstable!! 😮 😮

[@rituparna6133]

There's this movie - The Stonehearst Asylum where just the opposite happens(the patients are kept free) . But even that could lead to dangerous conditions for those who have imperative conditions. Hence,I feel "treatments" should be more humane yet with some restrictions.

[@beendatgworl]

Did being in there give her a condition?

[@cahidijoyoraharjo7833]

It seems so. Maybe after some time being around mental patients, made her become one herself. Or maybe she already had problems, just never gotten out before.

[@catherinejustcatherine1778]

That is what they imply. That or the drug cocktail they regularly dosed her with.

[@missfortune8553]

It certainly did me during my handful of stays.

[@TufailRigoo-sc9ko]

There is not much I have loved like this piece of brilliance in the recent times!! Kudos and thank you, to the writer, director and the actors. 🙏💫

[@karencahill4798]

Yikes! That didn’t go the way I thought it would. Very sad indeed.

[@iamssmedia]

I love the twist at the end. That made me happy.

[@barbraharvey9251]

If you aren't crazy before you go in you'll be crazy when you leave.

[@KutWrite]

Wow! Well produced and acted. Loved the end. Recognized Saul Rubinek right at the start. Gave it some gravitas, though you didn't need more.

[@SpotlessLeopard]

Excellently written and acted, and the leading lady is gorgeous.

[@zaptainkuboom5520]

The inmates are running the asylum

[@cahidijoyoraharjo7833]

Not inmates, but patients. Inmates are prisoners, meaning criminals.

[@zaptainkuboom5520]

@@cahidijoyoraharjo7833 The doctors, and nurses are the true inmates in this story

[@thatcrazynative.]

the acting in every one of these is absolutely incredible

[@-Cinderman]

Wow. Now THAT was a delightful punch in the gut. Bravo to the writer, director + film-makers! Just marvelous! 🧡

[@parallellenses4738]

Absolutely excellent short !! Great acting, great cinematography, great movie.

[@LadyValkyri]

Beautifully written, Anya! I loved everything about this. It cut deep. Hugs to all.

[@daisi4925]

Very good! You I soaked in and to be honest the ending got me. Bravo!

[@tokajileo5928]

Nora-Jane Noone is so underrated actress. Since Magdalene Sisters i knew she was a star

[@mz8755]

60s into it, i immediately sense something much worse is gonna happen... and yes another famous experiment also from Stanford the prison experiment gave me this vibe.

[@CommonSenseRevolution]

Amazing watch, stunning ending. Bravo! Well done.

[@allisondennis2662]

kinda freaked me out not a big fan of Mental issues except One Flew over the Cuckoos nest well done this shortie Omeleto comes up with some awesome shorties

[@mcanally1]

Very good one! The ending gave me chills!!

[@hookbeak2321]

Omeleto films are so good, very contemporary film which gave rise to plenty of comments & discussion.

[@ske7chy]

Had a feeling the moment she dropped the bowl and never got caught.

[@kaydenpat]

Wasn’t expecting that plot twist. Wow!!

[@roseeg6937]

The ward triggered her symptoms

[@healthguy79]

More proof of the power of. Association. You become like those you spend the most time with

[@fakeologist1]

Worth the 20minute investment. Excellent acting and story.

[@nahedkhairy9804]

outstanding acting by all. loved the thread related to the fish.

[@existentially-unhinged]

there was an actual experiment with a bunch of volunteer students working on graduate degrees - the premise was they would say one time that they were suicidal and be taken in for 72 hour psychiatric evaluation - so I think three were let loose after the three days but the majority were put on meds and kept for various periods of time before being released - they only said they had suicidal ideation the one time when being admitted after that they walked the straight and narrow and said - they had never really meant it - but three weeks was like the average time spent on locked wards - and the longest stay was 72 days or so - the control professors did not get involved = so it was all dependent of the hospital staff - the larger the hospital the more chance of getting the longer stay which was seen as getting lost in the overrun system.

[@a.r.1186]

Saw the ending coming from a mile away, but I still enjoyed it. I was drawn in by the main actress and Nancy. Their performances kind of made up for the predictability (for me.)

[@okmillo9749]

the shutter island made you think like that i know

[@einienj3281]

As someone with mental health issues (on and off), this is one of my biggest fears..

[@Zompor]

bro the ending gave me goosebumps, i think being around and acting insane can cause real insanity

[@whitney9810]

What about these actors?

[@Dobrymolodets]

Watched the whole thing, loved it

[@archstanton420]

No One has Mentioned Sal Rubin from Warehouse 13 in the Opening Scene with Her as she Prepped for the Ordeal as Professor Rosenhan......

[@kevincozens6837]

The synopsis of the story is you don't have to be crazy to enter the asylum but you will be by the time you leave. :)

[@mr.nobody9086]

Maybe the experiment was not to test if the ward staff could tell if she was infact I'll or not...biy rather what 23 days in a ward would do to a non-ill person.

[@kathydavenport4422]

This is heartbreaking sad even to this day. So many people have this view. Misunderstood

[@davidowens5898]

I wouldn't trust a psychiatrist (or a psych ward for that matter) as far as I could kick it. This short is a perfect case in point........

[@jbtechcon7434]

You mean this movie where they recognized a genuine schizo?

[@KrowShow.]

Unfortunately its movies/media that promote the stigma of mental health that causes people to believe psych wards are a bad thing. This short doesn't help it, but it does show an aspect that sometimes people are in wards for legit reasons.

[@MN-zh2vd]

@@KrowShow. unfortunately those of us who have had dealings with these hospitals know damn well the abuse of power that takes place inside. They know their patients wont be believed and they take full advantage of that knowledge.

[@MN-zh2vd]

@@KrowShow. when my loved one was admitted, they lied to us and ignored us. He had granted us full power, but they did this. Once they get someone on the inside, they do everything they can to drain that patient's insurance. They'll do anything, and I do mean any despicable and evil thing, to keep their talons buried deep in their little cash cows.

[@KrowShow.]

@@MN-zh2vd I am one of "those of us" you mentioned. Please don't misunderstand me, I know toxic hospitals exist. They exist in every form of human agency. Just because there's poor/bad daycares, nurses/police, hospice, living homes, etc; doesn't mean they're ALL bad. Quite a few hospitals/rehabs have great programs and do wonders for their patients. I'm hate hearing that yours in particular was horrible, hope they shut that place down or remodel it intensely so others don't share the same experience.

[@WildNancy25]

Great film, amazing acting ! Bravo 👏🏼

[@rose12787]

Such a talented actress!

[@AK-sm6tv]

When she first meets Nancy after chasing the car it seems that she is walking pass her but then when we pan back to our main character, we see that no one walks pass her😳

[@deadsoldiertr]

This reminds me a turkish proverb "Körle yatan şaşı kalkar." translated to "The one who sleeps with a blind wake up as a cross-eyed." If you stay near humans with specific problems, you have chance to get those problems too.

[@miyukiyotsuba7379]

Hospital do not want to discharged people. They must have a lot of funding.

[@spookeesarah]

I wondered where this actress went. She had a roll in the decent

[@cherishedowl421]

Did not see that coming 😮! Great film

[@jajdude]

When I was on psych ward there were few patients you could tell they weren't well, but most you had no way to know why they were there. From regular chatting or hearing them with others, nothing was obvious, but that's the same at the psych waiting area too. I think most mental illness has no telltale sign. Now, my schizophrenic mother, you could tell if you were at our house and she was talking out loud or shouting paranoid things.

[@revanamarie7210]

Put a sane person in a crazy house and they WILL go insane ...

[@NorthernWoman4587]

Thank you! This is great 👍🏻

[@mrctzn4557]

Huge red flag is hearing the word EXPIREMENT!

[@ArabsforIsrael]

OMG she IS crazy after all 😳 ... good film !