TOUCHED WITH FIRE

Saw this a week ago and was pleasantly surprised, mostly by Katie Holmes' performance as a sufferer of a serious bi-polar disorder, both on and off her meds. I know Holmes mostly for her bravery in saving her daughter and herself from Tom Cruise and his Scientology overlords, and roles in a few minor movies that didn't impress me with anything more than her charm and professionalism.

But in TOUCHED WITH FIRE, she and her partner in the battle to deal with their bi-polar challenges, played well by Luke Kirby (though for my taste he seemed a little miscast as her romantic interest), run the gamut of emotions in a story that the friend I saw it with, who has some experience in these things, said captured the main characters' struggles with the condition perfectly.

The rest of the cast does a good job too, and the story maintains your interest (or mine at least). But the real revelation for me, besides the insights into what people with this condition face, was Katie Holmes' performance, which led me to feel she should have been nominated for a best actress award for 2015.