Katie Holmes has been mostly lying low the past few years, appearing in small indie flicks as opposed to big Hollywood vehicles.
Now the Batman Begins actress is back in her indie comfort zone with Touched With Fire, a film about two bipolar poets in love.
The film debuted to positive reviews at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. The trailer came out last week, and it appears to show an accurate portrayal of the disease. There’s racing thoughts aplenty in addition to a healthy obsession with the arts.
Holmes plays a poet diagnosed with bipolar disorder, who meets and falls in love with a fellow bipolar poet (Luke Kirby) in a mental hospital.
Director Paul Dalio suffers from bipolar disorder himself. Holmes had a lot of praise for him in a recent interview she did with Yahoo! Movies.
“Our director is very open about having the disorder and this was very much his experience,” she said. “When I sat down with him, I was really inspired by what he was saying. I’d never done a part like this before. The challenge of that was very enticing. I know there are so many families affected by this, so it became something bigger than just an acting job.”
How did she prepare for the role?
”I read a lot of books on the disorder and just threw myself into it,” she told Yahoo!.
Bipolar iconography can be seen in the trailer and its promotional materials. Kirby’s character quotes Lord Byron — “We of the craft are all crazy.” The film’s poster is a riff on the painting The Starry Night by bipolar artist Vincent Van Gogh.
Touched With Fire is due in theaters Feb. 12. Watch the trailer below.
