Thin

Director: Lauren Greenfield - directorial debut
Documentary following four women with eating disorders
USA, 2006

Seen: Nov 15, 2006 on TMN

Reason to see: I was literally flipping channels and it completely pulled me in. I even missed one of my regular shows to watch it.

It is hard to describe my reaction to this film. It is brillant. Ok, maybe it isn't so hard. I've never been a huge fan of documentaries but this topic fascinates me. Why do people go to the lenghts they do to be thin? And it is never enough. There never seems to be an acheivable goal or light at the end of the tunnel. There is always more, or less that they want to be. It was also interesting to see this stories unfold in the setting of a clinic which in a lot of ways reminded me of camp in an odd way, the cliques, group sessions and shared meals. Not that anyone ate much, or at least not that they showed. They also refered to themselves as 'restrictors' as oppose to anorexic or bulimic, which I found an interesting term. One thing I will say for these women is they are not weak. The power and strength of will they have is phenominal, you just wish you could reach out to them and persuade them to use it in another way. Gripping, heart-breaking and very honest this film is one to watch.

This is currently playing on TMN on Demand and I did read somewhere that it is also on HBO (Nov 2006)

Shannon's Overall View:
I was captivated by it
I'd watch it again
I'd recommend it

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© Shannon Ridler, 2006