Bedlam

Bedlam takes us inside psychiatric emergency rooms, jails, homes, and homeless encampments in its wrenching portrayal of America’s crisis surrounding the care of severely mentally ill citizens. Filmed over five years in Los Angeles, the documentary tracks individual stories of patients caught on an endless spiral of ineffective care, exposing the anatomy of a broken healthcare system. Bedlam frames its analysis within the context of the history of mental health care at the federal, state, and local levels. “Haunting and trenchant. . . . The struggles of patients, their families and health care professionals are illustrated with gripping specificity . . . a necessary and important film” (Hollywood Reporter).