We spoke with Andy about the film.
"This will be the first time there's a mainstream movie with a manic-depressive main character," he said. "It's a brilliant role and particularly challenging for an actor. He will play a psychiatric patient, a counterfeiter, a prisoner, a public relations agent ... and more. These are roles within the role, and it's quite a shocking story in many ways.
"The story is set In the post-disco New York City of the early 1990's," Andy continued. "It was a whirlwind for people in their 20's. We were fashionable, trying to make it in the media businesses. It was hard to avoid the drugs, the alcohol, the sex, the constant travel, the opportunity to commit criminal acts. Many people found themselves trapped - but everyone else knew when to stop. For me, an undiagnosed manic depressive, there was a little voice urging me to keep going. Once you've got one toe in the water, there's no turning back. You've slipped into a decade of euphoria and mania and 'the crazies.' "
Andy was in federal prison when he received a definitive diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but it took several more years, a trip through the pharmacological jungle and electric shock therapy to achieve that elusive goal of "stability." "Once the diagnosis comes," Andy said, "Everything changes. I'm not going back to any of my previous lives. I lost fifteen years of my life and I'm just looking forward, focusing on being well."
What advice does Electroboy have for the actor who plays him? "It would be interesting to spend time with an untreated manic depressive to get a good sense of all the moods -- the illogical thinking, the grandiosity, the highs, the lows, the spending sprees, the hypersexuality -- to follow along for the ride. Talk to people who live it every day. Describing it is really difficult. Mania is not all fun and games. There hasn't been a great depiction of this illness ever in film. No one says, 'Oh my god, the problem is that you have bipolar disorder.' "
Variety magazine wrote, "Behrman's book is a turbulent spin through the life of a 28-year-old manic-depressive art forger and con man, chronicling his sexual escapades, drug binges and treatment with electroshock therapy." We noted that while this is certainly true, it focuses on the most sensational aspects of Andy's book, and brings up the concern that the movie may sensationalize the illness and also tend toward stereotyping those with bipolar disorder as maniacs, as has happened so much in the past so much. We asked Andy if he knew what was being done to make sure the movie Electroboy avoided these traps.
"Good point," he said. "No, the film will portray a manic depressive accurately. The screenwriter has done a tremendous amount of research on the illness, has interviewed me extensively, and is also familiar with mental illness. I think the Variety piece, itself, was a bit sensationalistic. But in the long run, i think Electroboy, the film, is going to be a breakthrough film on the subject of mental illness, in that it WILL be accurate and won't 'hype' mental illness in any way. I speak with the screenwriter regularly (and e-mail him constantly), and I'm making sure that what's in Electroboy, the book, will also end up in the film." Good news for all of us!
Why is this an important film? Andy said, "There's a huge stigma about mental illness, and tremendous ignorance. I just testified in a criminal case with a bipolar defendant. The judge knew nothing about the illness at all. There need to be alternative kinds of treatment for mentally ill people who commit crimes. When I was in prison, treatment was inadequate and I got really sick. When my mental state altered, so did my criminal behavior."
What is there to learn about bipolar disorder? "Electroboy is a chronicle of a manic depressive's battle with the illness with a happy ending. We know how to disguise the illness and seem like regular people, but being inside the illness is shocking. It really is an extraordinary experience.
"But the truth is -- we are regular people - when medicated and treated."
Our thanks to Andy Behrman for giving us this exclusive interview!
Originally published 12-14-03
