You are here:

Patrick

Name: Patrick
Director: Mark Hartley
Released: 2013
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

3.9/10

Limited

2013

Director

Mark Hartley

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Patrick (2013) is a period piece that succeeds most notably in its nuanced treatment of disability. By centering the psychic presence of a character with anencephaly, the film challenges traditional views on ability to act and medical ethics. However, the film is limited by its historical setting, which results in a lack of racial and LGBTQ+ diversity. The social landscape is depicted as a homogenous, mid-century Anglo-Saxon environment. While gender roles are somewhat traditional, the female characters provide the necessary emotional weight to the narrative. The film ultimately balances a narrow social scope with a sophisticated exploration of consciousness.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Patrick have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on traditional heterosexual relationships and does not include any LGBTQ+ narratives or non-cisgender identities.

How does Patrick portray gender?

Fair

Female characters play a key role in driving the emotional stakes through caregiving and emotional labor. However, their roles are still tied to traditional mid-century domesticity and femininity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Patrick?

Limited

Set in 1960s Australia, the film reflects the era's demographic homogeneity. The cast depicts a primarily white, Anglo-Saxon social environment.

How does Patrick represent religion and culture?

Fair

The story explores moral relativism regarding the sanctity of life. It focuses on personal ethical dilemmas rather than promoting specific anti-Western ideologies.

Does Patrick include disability representation?

Good

The protagonist, living with anencephaly, is portrayed with high ability to act. The film goes beyond mere plot devices to explore the profound ethics of personhood.

Present on Screen

Provides a actively leading, respectful portrayal of a character with a profound physical disability.
Challenges conventional definitions of personhood and ability to act through its central protagonist.
Explores complex ethical dilemmas regarding medical technology and the sanctity of life.

Limited or Absent

Lacks any representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-cisgender gender expressions.
Reflects significant demographic homogeneity with minimal racial or ethnic diversity.
Relies on traditional mid-century gender roles and domestic depictions of femininity.

Official Synopsis

Patrick lays comatose in a small private hospital, his only action being his involuntary spitting. When a pretty young nurse, just separated from her husband, begins work at the hospital, she senses that Patrick is communicating with her, and he seems to be using his psychic powers to manipulate events in her life.

How are these scores produced? →