Since its release in 2016, Brain on Fire’s true takeaway continues to be overlooked by critics.

The movie is based on the true story of American journalist, Susannah Cahalen, played by Chloë Mortez. At the start of the film Mortez is a beginning reporter at the New York Post. She portrays the essence of determination and potential in telling the hard-hitting stories, until, she falls mysteriously ill. As Mortez begins to deteriorate, getting headaches, missing deadlines, hearing and seeing things that aren’t there, like bedbugs on her arms and a faucet that doesn’t actually leak, madness comes into question.

This is when the conflict of getting a medical diagnosis is introduced. Throughout the movie, Mortez is misdiagnosed repeatedly by doctors with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia in response to her spontaneous mood swings, and eventual seizures. Throughout her journey to get well, we begin to see the emotional and physical toll Mortez is faced with during this time of uncertainty. She experiences times of extreme irritability, frustration, paranoia and feeling generally unwell.  In the beginning scenes of the movie over a voiceover, Mortez even says she feels trapped in her own body. This tends to be a frightening reality for many more individuals than we realize.

While some critics have criticized the poor choice in lack of character development for the supporting characters, they may fail to realize the film is meant to be centered around how Cahalen herself was feeling. The film itself is based off of the autobiography Cahalen wrote. So, it could be argued that the director and screenplay writer, Gerard Barrett, was attempting to keep the authenticity of Cahalen’s medical journey, rather than change the story completely to make it a compelling blockbuster.

This approach gives the audience the opportunity to see from a first-person point of view, how challenging and at times, dehumanizing seeking medical help can be. Too often the stories of those affected by these diseases are told through the point of views of the supporting characters, and the main character tends to get lost. Brain on Fire and its storyline should be commended for keeping the voice of the main character, even when she becomes nonvocal, Mortez remains the focus. This approach offers relatability for viewers who may be experiencing something similar, or have in the past, letting them though that there is power in telling your own story.

There is also an argument that the supporting characters lacked empathy in their performances, but the truth is, the desire for empathy is based off of our cinematic desire for everything to be great in the world. Real life, real people, do not always tend to be this way. The lack of empathy in medical professionals, serves as a source of motivation for some to continue to find an answer. For those like Mortez, motivation, determination, and perseverance, lead to a resolution.

Despite the criticisms of the film lacking emotion and character development, Brain on Fire is an empowering film for those who have experienced the hardship of finding a difficult diagnosis. By keeping the film centered on the main character and her journey, the authenticity of the experience was possibly kept intact, giving the audience a better insight on a perspective they might not see every day.