Crazy as Hell  (2002) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

A compassionate but egotistical psychiatrist believes that modern psychiatry relies too much on medication. He believes that he can treat many forms of mental illness, even some forms of severe psychosis, with drug-free psychotherapy. He is given a chance to test his theories in practice. He's been given temporary control of an entire ward of a state mental hospital for a demonstration of his techniques, and he has a documentary film crew following his every move. Things seem to be going well until a sinister patient shows up, whose delusion is that he thinks he is Satan. And maybe he is. Or maybe he isn't. Or maybe it doesn't matter, because there is an ever deeper secret hidden in the story.

The plot was satisfactory. The surprise ending had me thinking "not that again", but I didn't really see it coming because the film exercised some good magician's patter and had me thinking about other matters.

What raised the film a cut above straight-to-vid fare was the depth of its thought process. In essence, it asks an edgy question: "can compassion be evil?". The hot-shot doctor tends to see patients as ways to prove his own genius, but he does demonstrate genuine concern for them as well as a desire to see them get better. But is his compassion and individual attention really just harming people with serious mental illness, people who were actually better off in the mass-production world of over-medicated mental institutions? I don't know the answer to that, but the film makes a persuasive case that compassion mixed with ego can sometimes be a harmful combination, as the presidency of Jimmy Carter often demonstrated. We find out that in the doctor's past he tried to treat his own daughter with love and compassion when he probably should have listened to his colleagues who recommended medication. Her case ended up in tragedy.

The film was scripted by Jeremy Leven from his own novel. He's the same guy who wrote Don Juan DeMarco and Creator, two films which I enjoyed. This film is far less sentimental than either of those, but equally thoughtful.

If you want to learn about the project in detail, here is the official press kit, which is extremely rich with information

Tell ya what - it isn't a great film, but it is excellent considering the budget and shooting schedule, and I enjoyed it. Eriq LaSalle, who directed and starred, may become a great director if he ever devotes his attention to that profession full time. The only reason he should not direct full time is that he has such a remarkably charismatic presence as an actor.