Did you people see the same film I saw?

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's a quiet slow moving film; which to me: is not a minus. The character Em is bipolar, medication doesn't help her; she seems to be immune to their effects, and she struggles with her illness on a daily basis. While the film is called "em" the film is not actually centered on her, it's centered on the man that just comes into her life, and how he's able not only to deal with her illness but also in recognizing she's actually ill. I thought some of fhe sexual scenes in the beginning was a bit unnecessary. Story-wise it doesn't actually add anything. Yeah, they're in a new relationship, and they're falling in love with each other (him faster than her) but other than to show nudity, what was the overall point? Maybe I'm getting old. Those are basically the only critiques I have of the film; otherwise, I enjoyed it. Nice quiet movie.

Ms Willen seems to suffer from a narcissism that leads her to appear self conscious. Such a self involvement causes us to feel nothing but annoyance for this lady who wears hats and twirls around in nursing homes to indicate manic highs. The least she could do was to research the matter before playing a character allegedly being under the throes of mania. As it stands, Stef Willen merely comes across as mentally challenged woman who is so addled that she doesn't correct this boyfriend when he calls her EM. If my name was Amanda I'd sure as hell think that shortened it would lead to AM. If the name was Emily this oversight could be overlooked. Add in the gratuitous sex scenes and Willen's manly shoulders and you have a real lemon on your hands. It is no wonder that this was the last acting gig given to Willen.She should stick to short films such as Long Ago-- Christy Wegener's unsung masterpiece about a self conscious lesbian(played by Stef Willen) who has a rat tail and such.

The two characters in the film have a strong love for each other but they struggle with the shadow of mental illness. This film is very well written, usually it's hard to watch such a drama but it's balanced out with the good things in the couple's relationship and why they try so hard to make it work. This should be something everyone should see especially since most of us know someone living under these conditions. It's an honest shot of what that person encounters from day to day.The actors are also absolutely amazing - relatively unknown, though they have more talent than any I've ever watched.Must see.

Em is a compelling and simple film. Subtle and beautiful, it unwraps the lives of two people struggling to come to peace with their emotions. Relating to anyone who has ever dealt with or encountered someone with a mental illness, Em is a movie that speaks to all generations.Editing progresses the film quickly, relying on the viewer to fill in any gaps. Actors focus on relaying emotion rather than speaking lines and before you know it, you're hooked.This movie achieves what every film should aspire to – it tells an intelligent and well planned story without any pretense. Told with the up most care, Tony Barbieri deserves great credit for creating a painfully honest film about what it means to love.