Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Marilyn’s Eyes’ On Netflix, An Italian Film Where Patients in a Mental Health Facility Start a Restaurant

In Marilyn’s Eyes, now streaming on Netflix, a talented chef finds himself mandated to an outpatient mental health facility after he has a destructive breakdown. While he tries to keep his head down and get through it for the sake of maintaining a connection with his young daughter, he soon finds himself wrapped up in the chaos of Clara, a zany actress also in treatment (but who seems to think she’s above all this madness). Though the two come from dramatically different worlds, they might just have more in common than they ever imagined. 

MARILYN’S EYES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Diego (Stefano Accorsi) has a bit of an anger issue. When we first meet him, he’s destroying the dining room at his restaurant, and when he’s asked why he did it by his therapist later, he says it was because his employee kept putting the flour in the wrong place. Diego joins a therapy group that includes participants with a wide variety of ailments, from Tourette’s Syndrome and self harm to delusions involving aliens and anger management. Diego himself struggles with OCD, tics, and a stammer, and is desperate to maintain a relationship with his young daughter, Bianca. Diego is made a little uncomfortable by a woman in the group named Clara (Miriam Leone), a quirky actress who is already halfway out the door. When she’s sentenced to another 6 months in the group, however, she starts trying to find ways to gain the favor of her therapists. The first move? Committing the group to cooking for visitors daily, a job that only increases Diego’s already fragile stress levels.

As the group continues cooking and Diego and Clara bond, she starts a fake restaurant page for their little project, calling it The Monroe. Clara manufactures reviews and creates so much buzz that hopeful patrons call regularly, dying for a chance to dine at this unique restaurant. Promising an entertaining evening of performance art and one signature dish, Clara opens the restaurant to the public, giving each of the patients in their group the opportunity to put themselves out there and do something brave. Clara and Diego, despite their initial reservations about one another, start to develop romantic a romantic connection, and for a short while, the restaurant thrives. There are more than a few bumps in the road along the way, but this unlikely cast of characters soon finds that The Monroe might change their lives forever.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Marilyn’s Eyes might bring to mind some other mental health dramedies including Silver Linings Playbook, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, and The Skeleton Twins.

Performance Worth Watching: She’s got a bit of an overplayed manic pixie dream girl thing going on, but Miriam Leone is dazzling as Clara. Despite the weak writing for her character, Leone takes what she’s given and creates something special, delivering her lines with a twinkle in her eye and a natural charisma equal parts manic and mesmerizing.

Memorable Dialogue: As simple as it might sound, Diego telling Clara that “when people don’t see you, it’s terrible” sums up a lot of the film, and why so many of its characters struggle.

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: Marilyn’s Eyes very much feels like an indie movie made circa 2009. It’s definitely well-intentioned, but it’s a paint-by-numbers mental illness dramedy, stocked with a familiar cast of characters whose issues end up making them quirky and lovable in the context of the film. Much of the film feels ripped from Silver Linings Playbook, down to some of the soundtrack choices and the dramatic father-to-son speech about not letting a good girl go. Silver Linings Playbook is a movie that works because of its stellar performances and filmmaking, but the idea that two “crazy” people can cure each other’s problems has always been a problematic one. Marilyn’s Eyes also goes down this road, pushing Diego and Clara together in an attempt to balance out each other’s respective mental illnesses. In 2022, it’s a little more difficult to give a story like this a pass, even if the performances are charming and the story big-hearted as hell.

It’s pretty easy to predict where the film is going from scene-to-scene; the inevitable breakdowns, confrontations, and resolutions all start to feel tired after a while, and Marilyn’s Eyes doesn’t seem to fully grasp the weight of its subject matter. The premise is certainly an intriguing one – a restaurant in a psychiatric facility grabbed my attention right away – but the execution doesn’t quite live up to the idea, dancing lightly around real issues and never probing farther than surface level. With an original script and a more thoughtful depiction of mental health, Marilyn’s Eyes might sing. In its current state, however, it never quite manages to carry a tune long enough to leave a lasting impression.

Our Call: SKIP IT. While the story is sweet, Marilyn’s Eyes struggles under the weight of its subject matter, falling into twee patterns and presenting us with tired caricatures of mental illness.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.