Mr. Jones is about a man who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Another term for his diagnosis is manic-depressive disorder. He cycles between being ecstatic about life and going through depressive episodes. Richard Gere does an excellent job of portraying this diagnosis. In the beginning of the film, Mr. Jones is in one of his manic states, where he is high on life and thinks he can do anything. After convincing a contractor to give him a job building a roof, he decides that he is going to make like a plane and fly off of it. Luckily, a fellow construction worker manages to get him down from the roof and save his life.
After this, Mr. Jones gets incarcerated at a mental institution for evaluation. He meets the other main character of the film here, Dr. Elizabeth Bowen (Lena Olin). Dr. Bowen believes that Mr. Jones needs professional help and seeks to involuntarily commit him. During a hearing for his commitment, Jones craftily convinces a judge that he is just a happy go lucky guy, and the judge sets Jones free. The trial is a key scene because it not only shows how Jones is a very quick-witted person during his manic state, but, also, Dr. Bowen reviles that people with his condition first go through the manic state, but then fall into a very deep depression.
Sure enough, after one more incarceration, Jones goes through his depressive stage. This time he wanders around and doesn't know where he is. It seems like he doesn't care about life and very nearly gets killed when he steps out into traffic on a busy street. The good doctor finds Jones in this state after letting herself into his apartment. After this, Jones apparently voluntarily commits himself to the hospital where Dr. Bowen works and he undergoes counseling and drug treatment. It is reviled that Jones has previously been prescribed drugs for his condition but he "cannot live without his highs" even though it means going through his lows. Here the movie takes on aspects more like a love story rather than a movie about a mental illness.
In the end, Jones gets better and he and the doctor live happily ever after, presumably. Overall it was a good film that accurately portrays Bipolar disorder. One thing that the viewer should be aware of, though, is that it is a very inaccurate depiction of how the therapist-client relationship works. Many psychologists cringe at the thought of a therapist having relations with a client, as it is a violation of trust as well as a violation of the necessary distance between both the people in the relationship.
After this, Mr. Jones gets incarcerated at a mental institution for evaluation. He meets the other main character of the film here, Dr. Elizabeth Bowen (Lena Olin). Dr. Bowen believes that Mr. Jones needs professional help and seeks to involuntarily commit him. During a hearing for his commitment, Jones craftily convinces a judge that he is just a happy go lucky guy, and the judge sets Jones free. The trial is a key scene because it not only shows how Jones is a very quick-witted person during his manic state, but, also, Dr. Bowen reviles that people with his condition first go through the manic state, but then fall into a very deep depression.
Sure enough, after one more incarceration, Jones goes through his depressive stage. This time he wanders around and doesn't know where he is. It seems like he doesn't care about life and very nearly gets killed when he steps out into traffic on a busy street. The good doctor finds Jones in this state after letting herself into his apartment. After this, Jones apparently voluntarily commits himself to the hospital where Dr. Bowen works and he undergoes counseling and drug treatment. It is reviled that Jones has previously been prescribed drugs for his condition but he "cannot live without his highs" even though it means going through his lows. Here the movie takes on aspects more like a love story rather than a movie about a mental illness.
In the end, Jones gets better and he and the doctor live happily ever after, presumably. Overall it was a good film that accurately portrays Bipolar disorder. One thing that the viewer should be aware of, though, is that it is a very inaccurate depiction of how the therapist-client relationship works. Many psychologists cringe at the thought of a therapist having relations with a client, as it is a violation of trust as well as a violation of the necessary distance between both the people in the relationship.