A father struggling with bipolar disorder tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task an... Read allA father struggling with bipolar disorder tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.A father struggling with bipolar disorder tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 9 nominations
- Peter
- (as Wally Wolodarsky)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMaya Forbes' sister, China Forbes, performs the song "The Northern Line" over the end credits, a song for which she also composed and wrote the lyrics.
- GoofsOn a book shelf there are various board games in the background, including "Trivial Pursuit." The movie is set in 1978, Trivial Pursuit was not released on the market until 1982.
- Quotes
Cam Stuart: There is a semi-private stairwell
[Maggie bursts out laughing]
Cam Stuart: in our apartment building. What do you say?
Maggie Stuart: Oh. My stairwell days are over.
[Walks away]
Cam Stuart: You had stairwell days?
- SoundtracksAmen
Performed by The Brentford Choir
Recorded for Tabernacle a division of Studio One Records, Jamaica, West Indies
Courtesy of Soul Jazz Records, London, England
Couple of comments: first, this movie is a labor of love from writer-director Maya Forbes (best known for her work on The Larry Sanders Show). She bases the story on her own upbringing and as such the movie is pretty much autobiographical. To make things even more authentic, she cast her 12 yr. old daughter (Imogene Wolodarsky) as her younger self (Amelia). I noticed in the movie's opening credits that J.J. Abrams is one of the executive producers. Second, I don't know to what extent the portrayal of the Cam character is an accurate reflection of being manic-depressive or bi-polar. Yes, there are the highs and the lows, and yes, there is the habit/need to never throw out anything and instead collect like hamsters do, but is that enough? I do not know. But it all looks quite innocent on the big screen, and no 'bad' things happen to anyone in this. Third, the four leading acting performances (Ruffalo, Wolodarsky, Zoey Baldana as Maggie, and Ashley Aufderheide as Faith) are all enjoyable, and the interaction between them feels authentic. Fourth, the movie, set in the late 70s, contains a treasure trove of period cars from the 60s and 70s. Check out the Peugot station wagon Cam has at some point, but that's just one example. Truly a eye candy for car aficionados. Last but not least, there is a terrific soundtrack, including both the original score (by Theodore Shapiro) and a bunch of songs (best of all, George Harrison's Run of the Mill, which plays at the conclusion of the movie and over the closing credits; and also China Forbes (of Pink Martini, and sister of Maya Forbes) bringing an excellent new tune called "The Northern Line", also playing over the closing credits).
This movie made quite a splash at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it's taken another 18 months for this to get a national release. "Infinitely Polar Bear" opened some weeks ago at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and apparently is enjoying a good run. The recent early evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely. If you are in the mood for something that could be quite heavy but in fact is brought with a light touch and a smile never far away, and you want to see something light years away from Hollywood's standard summer fare of action heroes, I might suggest you give this a try, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.
- paul-allaer
- Aug 17, 2015
- Permalink
- How long is Infinitely Polar Bear?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $6,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $1,430,655
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $47,000
- Jun 21, 2015
- Gross worldwide
- $2,071,383
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1