Thin

Thin
by Lauren Greenfield

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Alisa Williams (II), Brittany Robinson, Polly Williams (III), Shelly Guillory
Director: Lauren Greenfield
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Hbo Home Video

Movie Reviews of Thin

Movie Review: Shallow and Conventional
Summary: 3 Stars

I've watched "Thin" three times and I'm still not satisfied. This "documentary" focuses way too much on the superficial drama within the clinic and only reinforces certain stereotypes due to its lack of depth. The eating-disorder itself, with all of its pervasive and sinister, deeply felt psychache is left undisclosed, unexamined. They should re-title this film "Frew Crew" and air it in portions as a soap opera on daytime television, or as an MTV reality show. At least it's amusing. At least it exposes the interior of an inpatient facility - something the public is rarely privileged or cursed enough to see. Given the context of a society that loves to intrude and is greatly amused by the suffering of other human beings it is no wonder that "Thin" is so shallow.

So why am I giving it 3 stars? The footage itself is of excellent quality and I easily watched it three times indicating that it has its merits as a form of entertainment.

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Summary of Thin

The HBO Documentary film Thin takes us inside the walls of Renfrew Center, a residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders, closely following four young women (ages 15 - 30) who have spent their lives starving themselves?often to the verge of death. The film deftly chronicles the pervasiveness of restrictive eating behaviors (most of the women profiled learned dysfunctional eating habits from their mothers while growing up), as well as the failure of our current health-insurance industry to address its clients' needs, while never shifting focus from the women themselves. Director Lauren Greenfield documents with astonishing depth the daily rituals, spontaneous friendships and startling swings between recovery and relapse that make up life at the center. The result is a powerful new insight into one of our society's most insidious open secrets.

A compelling film that delves into the lives of young women with eating disorders, the HBO documentary Thin offers sobering insight into why anyone would sacrifice her health for the pursuit of unrealistic body perfection. Set in a Florida clinic that specializes in treating patients with bulimia (binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting) and anorexia (consuming barely enough to survive), the film introduces viewers to four women. Shelly, 25, is a psychiatric nurse who weighs 86 pounds. Talking to her therapist, she says, "I used to have a personality." Alisa, 30, is a mother of two small children who joined the Air Force to lose weight. Though she seems to be the perfect patient, it's obvious her eating disorder has taken control of her life. She just wants to be thin, she says, and "if it takes dying to get there, so be it." Polly, 29, checked herself in for treatment after a suicide attempt. The cause? She had allowed herself to eat two pieces of pizza. Brittany, 15, grew up watching her mother--who also has an eating disorder--behave compulsively around food. Once weighing 185 pounds, Brittany dropped to almost half her weight in a year, causing severe liver damage. When her insurance runs out, the teenager has to leave the clinic. The last group meeting she attends with her fellow patients is heartbreaking. As she sobs, it's obvious she'd rather die of starvation than risk being heavy again. Even when a 28-year-old patient tries to convince her that she is young enough to change her life around, Brittany cries that death is a better option than being fat. Filmed in a matter-of-fact manner by director Lauren Greenfield, Thin offers hope, but no happily-ever-after ending for these women. It will be a struggle for them to eat--and not purge--once they leave the clinic. And the documentary leaves viewers hoping the best for these tortured women, but realizing that some of them might not make it. --Jae-Ha Kim

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