In this hauntingly painful yet hopeful film about the cunning way that mental illness highjacks brains, Director Margaret Byrne reveals her own mental health vulnerability and becomes a subject in the documentary. This open attitude helps her gain trust and almost unprecedented physical, digital, and emotional access to three defendants who avoid jail and make a two-year commitment to participate in the Cook County Mental Health Court Program. While the film skillfully portrays unfiltered stories of depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, and addiction along with the collateral damage to families, it also shows that decriminalizing destructive behaviors and providing sufferers a stable presence in their lives help to restore health and independence.
