“Rounding (2022).” Alex Thompson, who directed Saint Frances, is back with the infamous, if not equal, film of sophomore Rounding. The film has all the features of a great mental thriller. Sure, it can be very impressive, attractive, and distracting, but it is too late in its operation to remove what it is trying to do in the end. Thompson, who co-authored the article with Christopher Thompson, is bringing a true-life drama to the fore. But despite the strong performance from the film’s leading and the arc of interesting characters, Rounding ends up losing everything he strives to achieve.
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Rounding (2022): Movie Review
Next up is James Hayman (Namir Smallwood), a medical resident who assists one of his patients with suicide aid. It is something she wants, but he changes her mind at the last moment, which caused James to faint from the trauma of the heart attack and death. After a long break from work, James returns but asks to be transferred to a small town hospital so that he can continue to be his resident.
While there, he is taken under the wing of Drs. Emil Harrison (Michael Potts), and soon becomes interested in Helen (Sidney Flanigan), a severe asthma patient. After talking to him and looking at her charts, James becomes convinced that something very bad is going on with her condition and begins to investigate.
When Rounding excels focus on James. A medical citizen cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong with Helen, but while all her attention is focused on her, he neglects self-care, which results in mental confusion. His condition is an indication of the great pressure that citizens are facing – after all, it is a lot of pressure on them. James is deeply concerned about his patient and always shows surprise and frustration when doctors and citizens seem less invested in the patient’s life.
James’ lack of sleep and stress levels make him see things that aren’t real, and Thompson uses scary stuff in such scenes to show the resident’s fears, frustrations, and changing behavior. Unfortunately, scary moments are few and far between, which would not be a problem if the story had a better structure to its end.
That being said, Smallwood’s performance is horizontal and functional, highlighting James’ state of overwork and fatigue taking over his mind and body. The portrayal of the character supports the film and, with the addition of James as an unreliable narrator, the film is able to make his actions seem disturbing, and worthy of sympathy all at once. Flanigan is just as good as Helen, though she finds little to do at the beginning of her infamous film Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
If a film succeeds in depicting the life of a medical resident, it does not work well when it comes to everything else. The mystery of Helen’s diagnosis has never been fully realized, and it does not really work. Most of the film’s drama comes from James’ fascination with her medical history and helping him, but the mystery of it all is frustrating after a while. If the focus was solely on James and it was less likely that Helen’s mother was involved or not with the symptoms her daughter was experiencing, the film might have been better for her.
Rounding certainly has its merits. Jacob’s exploration of a man of great concentration, caring, and power is fascinating, like his journey from beginning to end. The end of the film leaves the audience with answers, but they are not as satisfying as intended because the plot of the film is not as easily treated as James’ character. In Rounding, small things that have a big impact, even if the themes are the theme of the story can be put together seamlessly or thoughtfully.
