#pica is going to the psychologist after this

[prancis-film-reviews]

Swallow (2020) Review:

SWALLOW IS A BRILLIANT MOVIE THAT UNDERSTANDS MENTAL ILLNESS! 😲

written by: Prancis

This movie was very disturbing and makes me a bit uncomfortable. It manages to make me feel sick about the protagonists' actions or doings. But, it doesn't mean I hate it; I actually really loved it. This movie was brilliant at its finest. Aside from its beautiful cinematography and incredible writing, it understands what having a mental illness really looks like and understand the character' emotions. No wonder why this film was named "One of the best film of the year"

Hunter is a poor woman who married an incredibly handsome, and wealthy man which then changed her life. She can now have everything she wants. But instead of being happy, her husband's absence and negligence is making her question herself. "Am I being a good wife to my husband? Am I a burden to him?" Then comes around her husband's parents whom also make her think, "Do I belong in this family?" These inner conflicts in herself are driving her crazy. Until the day comes she's actually pregnant which then comes around another conflict—She developed a postpartum depression and a mental illness called Pica (an obsession of eating non-foods).

At first it was hard for me to decipher what the hell was going on in the movie; All I understand is that Hunter is depressed and all she can think of is eating non-eatable stuff or items as a coping mechanism of what she's been experiencing. Glady, I had the urge to do a lot little research before writing this review for me to truly understand the character and her illness.

I have never heard of this Pica disorder type of illness before and I also was kinda shocked to know that there are people who are actually diagnosed with this in real-life. I did learn something new because of this movie wow...😂

Hunter's disorder is actually making me uncomfortable in the movie. I mean, of course it's not normal to swallow random stuff. What's even worse is that, she collects the stuff she swallowed in a table as if it's a memorandum after shitting in the toilet then picking it up—That shit was really disturbingly good. Not to mention it gets worse and worse from swallowing a marble to tacks and to more pointy or dangerous items. Well at least for me, I enjoy watching gruesome stuff like this.

I'm still actually not quite certain enough to why Hunter swallow stuff. But based on my little research, these actions are a type of coping mechanism as she's technically going through some emotional rollercoaster and she thinks she's not happy—or let's just say she's depressed. To gain that happiness, she swallows stuff which she said it makes her happy and fullfiled. This is basically a metaphor for "I used to be empty inside but now I'm full" type of shit. I'm not sure about that tho, it's just my little insight. 😂 Still, I think I made sense.

It was later on revealed that Hunter had a terrible past. Her mother was raped and her biological father was that rapist. This just puts more complex reason for her current behavior—She's been through a lot of shit. Until one day, her husband's parents and maybe also her husband decided to take her to a mental hospital or something (I forgot what it's called) which eventually turned to be a great shift of the movies' main plot point. Basically, it turned into a drama more than a horror now. She then ran away from her husband just right before they head to the hospital with the help of someone. That time I couldn't figure out why the hell did she ran for? That was a good twist actually. But later on I was like, "Oh okay, that was a good decision 'cause her new family is a dick and her husband is definitely not what I expected him to be after that. He's an asshole!".

She basically ran for her freedom. Her quarantine-type of life is giving a burden to her heart, also as a submissive wife to her husband—She felt lonely. She then confronts her biological father, which at first I didn't figure out why it needs to happen. Later on, I realized this was a good character development because of what she did; She faced her problems. She did that to gain closure. The child in her womb also gave burden to her that's why to let go of that pain, she killed her baby and now she feels more free than ever. This gave a smile on her face as she now holds no pain, and she is finally free.

Well as for me, the ending was not quite satisfying tho. I mean, it was a good conclusion for the story but I felt like it needs something more to tell you know? I need more! Or maybe it's just me? It was even sad that she killed her baby.

Let me tell you, at first I didn't get exactly why the hell did she have to kill her baby. Of course I'm not a psychologist or something to quickly understand these type of shit so it was hard for me to decode; Good thing I did a little research which then gave me more emphasis on what's actually my insights to the film in my perspective.

This was really a good film. It won't make you bored. Every second of it is essential for the audience to understand. It was really great since I really love these kind of movies as my primary favorite genre is thriller. This even make me appreciate the film more when I realized this is a fresh plot you don't see everyday in Hollywood when I thought, "Hollywood is running out of ideas". This is also an indie film by the way and a debut movie of a new director, Carlo Mirabella-Davis. Wow, it's his first movie and it's already this good. But most of all, this movie makes me understand what it truly feels like to have that type of problems and illness (Pica). I think that's the beauty of this film, I was able to know the character inside-out.

I would rate this movie a 9 / 10 👍

The ending still really bothers me 'cause I really wanted more things to happen—I feel like it's kinda empty. But overall, this was really a good film that I highly recommend everyone to watch. Thank you for reading my review! 😉

Movie info:

Rating: R

Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller

Directed by: Carlo Mirabella-Davis

Release Date: March 06, 2020

Watch the trailer here!

[krispdreemurr]

I have a theory that Susie has Pica since she eats chalk,what do you think about that?

i think mostly she’s just... hungry. she notes she didn’t have breakfast and seems to be maybe coming out of a situation where there’s, uh, not much support going on at home. kids who are struggling w getting enough nutrition can sometimes go after chalk, apparently

i’m not sure if pica-w-a-cause-like-that is considered the same thing as regular pica, im not like a psychologist or anything, but i think a better-fed susie would probably not eat as much chalk (although she might still snack on it because of the cronch)

meanwhile, moss-eater kris is a different story

[tired-af-p]

I just sat for two hours into the most stereotypical, uneducated class about eating disorders

I was dreading it tbh. I was sure i would listen to some stupid stuff but i wasn’t expecting it, to be so uneducated.

First off he only said there are only three types of eating disorders - anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating. When i asked him about the atypical disorders, he said there are not important! when the guy next to me said PICA, he dismissed him and said its a childhood disease.

He kept calling anorexia sufferers as successful bulimics and he kept telling that there are exactly the same disorders with the only difference to be the bmi! He selected a random girl and ask her to tell us her weight and height and calculated the bmi. Apparently her bmi was 17.6 (she didn’t look that thin tbh) and he spot on diagnose her with anorexia. The guy next to me is obsessed with exercising and healthy eating. He told him that he is borderline anorexic. When i told him that he is missing the point and that anorexia is a psychological disease meaning that it should cause distress to the individual in order to have it and its not just numbers, he moved on to the next question!

He kept saying that it only happens to reach people and that its just because of the media and the desire to be pretty. He even said there’s a manual in the way anorexic eats. He puts us in a “box” and insisted that all sufferers of anorexia and bulimia are the same. He didn’t mention control. he didn’t mention trauma, he didn’t mention perfectionism, he didn’t mention any of the consequences.

Like wtf? he is supposedly one of the best psychology lecturers. He teaches abnormal psychology to feature psychologists/therapists. He should at least read the dsm before presenting such class.

Like, here i am. I have been restricting/binging and purging (undiagnosed) since i was 13 after the sexual abuse has started and it was my only way to cope. Back then social media weren’t that popular, no one teached me how to do those things - they sort of came natural and for years i believed everyone was doing those behaviors. I was never into fashion magazines or had a picture of how i wanted to become. My weight fluctuated a lot over the years. I was diagnosed with bulimia when i was 23 but it was never about my weight. When i started talking about my sexual abuse in therapy last year - the anxiety and fear were so overwhelming that my only way to cope was to stop eating and over exercise. Flashbacks and nightmares were so constant that food was the only thing that i felt i could control. I went from obese to underweight in 13 months. I had recovered from bulimia for almost 16 months before i stopped eating. I went from nothing to atypical anorexia to anorexia nervosa. I never separated my peas from sweet corn, i never had a rigid way of eating my food.  Instead what i notice (usually too late) is that the behaviors/rules my eating disorder sets, change from day to day. Every day is something new and its never the same with other people who have the same diagnosis. Anorexia is so distressing and has caused me to lose so much and i would never call it “successful bulimia” because it has nothing to do with bulimia. It manifest so differently. And, it was never about being prettier. If anything else im fully aware that i want to become less attractive.

I’m rumbling and i could go on for day but what im trying to say is that eating disorders are not A and B. They are more complicated than that and each case is unique, has its own cause and manifest very differently