SYNOPSIS:
Will, a young Hispanic gay potter, is one gregarious guy. His boss is terrible, but he’s got a great boyfriend and a great job. Unfortunately, behind that veneer is a dark past of violence and mental illness that he is desperate to keep hidden. When his bipolar mother comes out of the woodwork after ten years of silence, he begins exhibiting unexplainable symptoms and spirals into an obsession, determined to solve this mystery of his own.
REVIEW:
Directed By:
Addison Heimann
Written By:
Addison Heimann
Addison Heimann wrote and directed Hypochondriac with the immensely talented Zach Villa portraying Will. The film opens with a memory that’s traumatic. Flash forward, 18 years later to the AMAZING, Zach Villa as Will. He’s working in pottery, it made me think of Patrick Swayze, if you don’t think of Patrick Swayze when you see pottery, what the fluff are you thinking about?
Zach’s friend Sasha (Yumarie Morales) is having a panic attack, anxiety attack in the closet at work. Zach is trying to take her mind off of it, and help her focus. This is so accurate when you have genuine bad ass friends. Taking care of yourself and others can be difficult. Some people may not be so great with handling certain situations.
Some people are great with difficult situations. Blossom (Madeline Zima) is Will’s boss, she wants the whole shebang. Devon Graye portrays Will’s boyfriend Luke. I someone that has been through so much in life, and somehow manages to smile, be happy, and never complain. It’s amazing how resilient a human being can be.
We meet Dr. Sampson, portrayed by Paget Brewster. Paget is beyond this galaxy talented. Dr. Sampson has become one of my favorite characters in Hypochondriac. Hypochondriac has become one of my favorite films so far this year. It’s a beautiful display of what the human mind is capable of. It’s disturbing but so heartfelt. The story is beautifully told with compassion.
The relationship between Will and Luke is caring. It’s awesome to see Madeline Zima from The Nanny, Gilmore Girls, Californication, and Painkillers portray such a different character. Will finds himself having to go to the doctor after passing out a few times, and having some problems.
Michael Cassidy portrays NP Chaz, Peter Mensah portrays Dr. Jansen, and Adam Busch portrays Dr. Rosenstein. NP Chaz isn’t super helpful, he’s nonchalant and doesn’t seem to give half a shit about Will. He tells him to eat and oh, it’s stress. You know just stress.
I Googled, and did some research. Here are just some things STRESSES does to a person: it can suppress your immune system, upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase risk of heart attack and stroke. It can speed up aging. It causes headaches, high blood pressure, and more. Luke is trying to be there for Will, at least he hasn’t quit on him.
So many people seem to just give up, they don’t want to communicate. Zach Villa is so talented, Zach is an actor, musician, songwriter, and vocalist. He plays this role effortlessly. He’s appeared in Destroyer, American Horror Story, and Honey Glue. He plays the role of Will with so much heart and soul.
This movie is so good, so far. It’s definitely a movie I would recommend watching. The story, the cinematography, the music. It’s sad that so many people suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and so much more. Will is going through so much. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of support.
Will and Luke have a beautiful relationship. I found out that Hypochondriac is based on a true story. It’s sad that we live in a world filled with hate, doubt and so much fear. The world has been troubled and off for so many years. The hate seems to flow more easily since social media. I’m not blaming social media entirely but it seems to have made communication so difficult for some people.
Will is tripping out on mushrooms while trying to just have a moment with Luke. It’s funny because you know the memes about just chilling with your demon, well this movie shows the intensity and the extension amount of madness a human being can endure in life. Anxiety, OCD, PTSD are horrible. I hear people say, “Oh, I have OCD.” But, do you truly know what that means? You can focus on anything? ANYTHING other than that one small or big thing that needs to be in its place. The task that some people will say, “it can wait until tomorrow.” It can’t wait, it must be done right now.
You can get sent to a therapist or a psychologist etc. Some therapists don’t truly understand life either. They go by the book. They don’t see the bigger picture or what’s going on in your mind. Zach Villa plays this role with so much heart and soul. Stress takes a toll on people. Will’s job doesn’t understand, the doctors sort of dismiss him at first.
It seems easy for a doctor to walk into a room and just go, oh it’s stress. They either send you on your way or give a referral, and maybe a prescription for whatever they can give you. Will is battling his mother, his friends, Luke, his job, but most importantly he’s at war with himself and his mind. The mind is powerful.
The mind can do more damage than anything especially if you’re a person that lives inside your own mind. It can torment and daunting. Will must take all of this in.
Make sure to check out HYPOCHONDRIAC. This film is brilliant, wild, the cast is insanely amazing. The story is just beautiful and terrifying in the best way.
MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT HYPOCHONDRIAC.