''Maze'' is a 2000 romance film about a New York painter and sculptor—Lyle Maze (

Rob Morrow Robert Alan Morrow (born September 21, 1962) is an American actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Dr. Joel Fleischman on '' Northern Exposure'', a role that garnered him three Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Best Acto ...

)—with

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...

(TS) and

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental and behavioral disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts and/or feels the need to perform certain routines repeatedly to the extent where it induces distress or impairs general ...

(OCD), who falls in love with Callie ( Laura Linney), the pregnant girlfriend of Maze's best friend Mike (

Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film ''A River Runs Through It (film), A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed' ...

) while Mike is away on a long stay in Africa as a doctor.

Development

After viewing a documentary on Tourette's, Morrow believed that individuals with TS "had a lament that they would never experience love because of this affliction". Of the film's theme, Morrow said:

I wasn't looking to do anything about Tourette—I was really thinking about themes of love. It was becoming clear that love is one of the most important things we can experience. I was trying to come up with a character who adapted himself to a life without love. ... My movie is a tribute to anyone with an affliction who thinks they'll never find love.

Casting

Morrow had played a person with TS in the film '' Other Voices'' and had already learned to portray

tic A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups.American Psychiatric Association (2000)DSM-IV-TR: Tourette's Disorder.''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', 4th ed., ...

s, so "casting himself actually made things a bit easier". Linney was Morrow's first choice for the role of Callie because "he felt the kind of understanding and close rapport he knew would be necessary to bring the two lead characters to life".

Filming

Laura Linney had to deal with a different kind of physicality in the film, appearing completely nude in a lengthy scene in which her character Callie poses for Lyle in his art studio-not exactly a love scene, but with subtle sensual overtones. "It's always difficult, at least for me," she said. "It's just not a natural thing to do! I'm very glad that it was Rob behind the camera," she said, acknowledging that actors-turned-directors are "always helpful-if they're good. They're going to understand acting in a much freer way."

Critical reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the film an average rating of 4.9/10 based on 22 reviews. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote:

References

External links

* {{Tourette syndrome 2000 films Films about Tourette syndrome 2000s romance films Films about obsessive–compulsive disorder 2000s English-language films American romance films 2000s American films