Infinitely Polar Bear

Name: Infinitely Polar Bear
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: June 19, 2015
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Ashley Aufderheide, Imogene Wolodarsky, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana

2015

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Ratings

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Ratings

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Infinitely Polar Bear

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: June 19, 2015 | R

Starring: Ashley Aufderheide, Imogene Wolodarsky, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana

Summary: A manic-depressive mess of a father 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.

Director: Maya Forbes

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Calvin Wilson

Jul 23, 2015

As the central character in “Polar Bear,” Ruffalo impressively explores the geography of a troubled mind, and makes the journey fascinating. Read full review

Steve Persall

Jul 23, 2015

Forbes' screenplay is fuller of humor than the topic might suggest, and Ruffalo as usual is imminently watchable, in a uniquely feel-good movie. Read full review

The Telegraph Amber Wilkinson

Jan 26, 2014

Forbes has a delicate but unsentimental approach, which gives her film the same infectious energy that blesses and curses Cameron. The end result feels good without feeling superficial. Read full review

Lou Lumenick

Jun 17, 2015

Cam (based on the director’s real-life father) is so charming and gifted in various ways that it’s easy to enjoy this fanciful look at a bohemian mixed-race family. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Jun 18, 2015

Forbes pushes the positivity a bit insistently, yet one of the most appealing aspects of her film is its depiction of kids thriving in an unorthodox household. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Jun 19, 2015

Despite some occasional moments of real sadness and terror, the turmoil in this movie is decidedly on the upbeat. Read full review

The Playlist James Rocchi

Jan 26, 2014

Forbes’ script simply cannot make the things she lived through alive for us in anything but the most glib, shallow and contrived way. Read full review

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User Reviews

ledaumas

Jul 11, 2015

We have family members on both sides diagnosed with the bi-polar disorder. They are very different on how they handle it. This movie showed how some people handle the disorder, along with the moments that they are out of control, and it was very realistic. Mark Ruffalo did an excellent jobWe have family members on both sides diagnosed with the bi-polar disorder. They are very different on how they handle it. This movie showed how some people handle the disorder, along with the moments that they are out of control, and it was very realistic. Mark Ruffalo did an excellent job of being sympathetic in his craziness. The young girls were great in their attempts to deal with their father, very true to what children do. Zoe Saldana was also excellent in her despair of handling an almost impossible situation. For us, some of the situations can be quite funny, while others are heartbreaking, and that's what the movie showed, living with crazy.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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Aug 23, 2023

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0 of 0 users found this helpful00

NikolayG

Jan 19, 2016

If you enjoy realistic intimate dramas, see this. Period. I gave Infinitely Polar Bear a pass several times because I assumed it was a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman. But it is not. Instead, it is a wonderful movie (having nothing to do with polar bears) that delves into the nuancesIf you enjoy realistic intimate dramas, see this. Period. I gave Infinitely Polar Bear a pass several times because I assumed it was a documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman. But it is not. Instead, it is a wonderful movie (having nothing to do with polar bears) that delves into the nuances of character more than any movie I have seen for the past few years. It likely will not get much attention because it does not focus on anything particularly politically correct, and most films that focus on realistic drama that get any attention are either about the plight of women or gay men or trans-this or that. This film focuses on a mentally ill man (not so crazy it makes you want to turn off the TV; just eccentric in a very realistic way that has a negative impact on those around him). If he turned out to be a monster I'm sure this film would have been nominated for something, but the writer/director stuck with honesty. This is simply an honest, warm and yet not saccharine in any way, rendering of the early life of the writer/director, who was raised by a bipolar father - a man entertaining on film since we don't actually have to live with him, though I'm sure it was not great fun in reality - with an Academy Award worth performance by Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana in one of her best roles yet. Beautiful, touching, and funny.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

GreatMartin

Jul 10, 2015

For 23 years Mark Ruffalo has been a journeyman actor, always becoming the character he is called on to play as in his last 3 films. He was Dave Schultz the wrestling Olympic champ in “Foxcatcher”, Ned Weeks, AIDS activist, in “The Normal Heart”, and in today’s movie “Infinitely Polar Bear”For 23 years Mark Ruffalo has been a journeyman actor, always becoming the character he is called on to play as in his last 3 films. He was Dave Schultz the wrestling Olympic champ in “Foxcatcher”, Ned Weeks, AIDS activist, in “The Normal Heart”, and in today’s movie “Infinitely Polar Bear” is Cam, husband and father who is bipolar. Though probably not a “STAR” or “A” list actor as defined in Hollywood he has had 55 nominations for acting roles in movies, on television and the stage. Lucky for us he can star in ‘large’ movies that allow him to star in ‘small’ movies.

In “Infinitely Polar Bear”, a name his youngest daughter gives to her father who was diagnosed as manic-depressive order in the late 1960s which will become bipolar disorder years later, Cam is handed the responsibility of raising his two daughters, Amelia (Imogene Wolodarsky) and Faith (Ashley Aufderheide) for 18 months in Boston while his wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) goes to New York to earn her MBA at Columbia in New York while the born to a rich for generations family he is poor.

The film opens with Cam having a mental breakdown and unable to hold down a job and though his family believed in a first rate education he was kicked out of Harvard and other schools. His background is explained somewhat but it doesn’t go into detail as to why his grandmother would pay his rent for an apartment and, offer him her Bently when his car is really in bad shape, yet won’t offer to send her grandchildren to private school.

Though based on a true story written by the director-writer Maya Forbes about her family she seems to have handled her father’s illness with humor whether he was experiencing bipolar episodes or going out on a drinking binge. The fact that her mother is an African-American and father white of an elite Boston family---remember this is in the 1960s--is referred to very briefly in a scene between Maggie and her daughter Amelia, who looks Caucasian as her father and Faith looks Black, telling the former she is Black having a Black mother. Sadly Saldana’s role is underwritten and we learn nothing about her family, or how she learned to deal with her husband’s illness but not why she stopped any sexual relations with him and seems reluctant to resume them.

Instead of looking into a man’s mind who is bipolar or a family who is biracial, and the problems both situations may have caused, we are given a warm, funny, feel good family movie where it might have been the way the director-writer dealt with the problems.

Mark Ruffalo IS Cam presenting a bipolar man who is a hoarder, a curser, an alcoholic who clearly loves his wife and daughters and takes care of the latter, not always in the best ways, but doesn’t hold back his love. Zoe Saldana is excellent even if her role is underwritten. Imogene Wolodarsky, as the older daughter, represents a teenager embarrassed by her father, which most teenage girls are, but even with dealing his bipolar loves him more. Ashley Aufderheide, the director’s daughter, is a little preconscious and loud but neither daughter changes in any way over an 18 month period.

The main reason to see this movie is for another memorable portrait by Mark Ruffalo.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

smiyamot

Jan 7, 2016

How can people with mental problems survive in our world today? Life in the city must be so daunting. This guy has a wife and two daughters. He also has a rich family who give him an allowance to live on so he's not homeless. He needs to look after the 2 girls while his wife goes toHow can people with mental problems survive in our world today? Life in the city must be so daunting. This guy has a wife and two daughters. He also has a rich family who give him an allowance to live on so he's not homeless. He needs to look after the 2 girls while his wife goes to school. We see his trials and tribulations in this struggle. This movie shows him NOT taking his meds, which I think sends the wrong message to others out in the world who we read about tragically in the newspapers. This was not unlike "Mistress America" in dealing with a bipolar person.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

NickLikesMovies

Sep 29, 2015

Mark Ruffalo gives a powerful performance, but the narrative is a little messy. The characters are strong, and the girl actresses give sweet, vulnerable performances. A solid watch.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Brent_Marchant

Jun 26, 2015

Despite earnest efforts by Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana to make the material of this offering look better than it really is, the film misses the mark in countless ways, including everything from consistent styles of filming to having a coherent narrative to failing to resolve a host of storyDespite earnest efforts by Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana to make the material of this offering look better than it really is, the film misses the mark in countless ways, including everything from consistent styles of filming to having a coherent narrative to failing to resolve a host of story threads. If you've seen the trailer for this release, you've already seen all the best that it has to offer.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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