Nice People

Joey Huertas

United States

Synopsis

A promising ballet dancer battles the distorted image she has of her own body

REVIEW

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental illness whose victims are preoccupied with their physical appearance-often a particular body part-to the extent that it rules their lives, bringing on such conditions as anorexia nervosa (refusal to eat), trichotillmania (obsessive plucking of body hair), and other forms of self-mutilation. The documentary focuses on Caithlyn, a promising young dancer who is admitted to a prestigious Manhattan ballet academy. Her struggle with BDD is exacerbated, perhaps caused, by her parents, who are heard taunting her for being too fat and for having "man legs...the legs of a football player." When she mutilates herself to relieve the pressure, the parents refuse to admit any role in their daughter's catastrophe, rejecting medical diagnoses and instead blaming secret messages imbedded in the music of the rock band Berlin. Neither the film's subject nor its technique are for the faint of heart.

-David Marc