Teenager David Clemens develops a hysterical fear that he will die if he comes into physical contact with another person. Perturbed, David's overbearing mother places him in a home for mentally disturbed young people, but David remains withdrawn from the other patients and his psychiatrist. Over time, however, David grows interested in 15-year-old Lisa, who suffers from multiple personalities – one who can only speak in rhyme, and the other, a mute.
Acting
Margolin's dual performance is devastating and precise.
Direction
Perry's clinical intimacy never feels exploitative.
Director
Frank Perry
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in just 18 days for $185,000, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Director and launched Keir Dullea to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Based on a real case study by Theodore Isaac Rubin, the film helped humanize mental illness during an era of institutional abuse.
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