36. Infinitely Polar Bear, directed by
Maya Forbes

Family, Love, Laughter and Mental Disorder

By Rose Marel

Drawing on her own childhood of being raised by her bipolar father, director Maya Forbes offers a humanising and layered portrayal of mental illness. Rotating around a fraying marriage and a loving family, Infinitely Polar Bear chronicles the struggles and triumphs that emerge in these circumstances. The story is told mainly through the filter of the 10-year-old Amelia, with every poignant moment being punctuated with humour, giving the film a warm and endearing quality that allows the characters to seem more relatable.

There’s a coldness to the material as well, though, largely informed by being set in the United States. America is portrayed as an unforgiving landscape, one that doesn’t care for your financial hardships, marital tensions or any mental problems you might be facing. It’s the ’70s too, indicating a more vocal and impertinent degree of racial tension, which underpins the relationship between Maggie (Zoe Saldana) and Cam (Mark Ruffalo); indeed, even if they wouldn’t give a second thought to their opposing skin colours, others may.

The Forbes family is a radical one for a variety of reasons. Firstly, they come from money but refuse financial assistance, continuing to toil away in a nose-down, arse-up dive towards economic security. It’s a dichotomy that’s humorously portrayed, as when the kids are driven in their family bomb of a car towards a relative’s mansion for lunch. Secondly, Maggie is the one to pursue educational training, a long-term springboard towards vocational (and financial) opportunity. Meanwhile, the traditionally maternal duties involving child-minding, cooking, cleaning and house maintenance are handed over to Cam, all compounded by the additional struggle of his fraying mental state.

An early voiceover, delivered by Amelia, gives us a rundown of the situation but hints that no overarching synopsis can be as deep as their three-dimensional reality. Cam has long battled with bipolar, meaning that his emotional peaks and troughs are wilder than any first-rate rollercoaster, and mental breakdowns are a frequent occurrence. Of course, it’s far more complicated than that as, aside from the effect of the illness itself, his paternal responsibilities are another test of mental endurance.

The challenges of living in a family so deeply entwined with manic-depressive disorder are dusted in a layer of nostalgia. Yes, the struggles and instability are all markedly etched into the story, but the fun and upbeat atmosphere is most dominantly given precedence. Cam is an irresistibly adorable character who wears crazy hats and throws tea parties while simultaneously smoking cigarettes by the double. He demands as much attention as the kids and, when gripped by severe episodes, he can seem like as much like a child as his daughters. In one way that means he’s tremendous fun, but in a very real sense it makes him a needy companion who can match the kids for childishness when it comes to tantrums. He’s like a tornado, and the energy and force of his vivaciousness can drain him dry and leave a mess of debris.

Watching Infinitely Polar Bear, my biggest revelation was Mark Ruffalo, upon whom the film hinges almost entirely. Honestly, having previously been a Ruffalo skeptic, I’m now a full-on believer. Admittedly, before watching this, I had only seen the Ruff in two other movies: Suddenly Thirty and Far From Heaven. Having now seen this and promptly caught up on The Kids Are All Right and Spotlight, I can firmly say that the Ruff is definitely an actor to appreciate, and most especially in this film. His warmth, charisma and vulnerability elevate Infinitely Polar Bear to the realm of the sublime, making it one of my new favourite films and him one of my new favourite actors.