The Blech Effect | Film Review

The Blech Effect is a compelling real-life story on how mental illness and addiction can truly alter the course of your life, and be the cause of your demise, if left to its own devices.

David Blech is an intelligent and wealthy man, considered to be a pioneer investor in the biotech industry and at one time was referred to as the “King of Biotech”. Those medical advancements and cures are, at the very core, the philanthropic endeavor we all hope our charity dollars will result in. David saw the financial prowess of investing in these through his firm, prior to his devastating loss of, well, just about everything.

However, David also has a mental illness called bipolar disorder, and some of the symptoms include impulsivity and excessive spending. These two symptoms paired with David’s access to and knowledge of stock investments ultimately lead to a disastrous outcome.

David’s brain functionally operates differently than others, which is known with bipolar disorder. In relation to the stock market, David enjoyed impulsively spending money and seeing the numerical value increase. The problem is, David is the only reason those numbers were increasing – a legality issue referred to as stock manipulation, for which David is facing federal charges.

All while David is enduring his own struggles, including severe depression as part of his bipolar disorder, he is also managing his autistic child’s day-to-day difficulties. There are times when David physically and mentally cannot leave his bed, and other times he’s in a height of manic where he acts impulsively. David displays a new level of vulnerability by allowing cameras and the world into his bedroom and his mind.

Director David Greenwald does a fantastic job illuminating the effects of an untreated mental illness in The Blech Effect. The goal isn’t to show David as completely exonerated – we know he did do these things, but the question becomes does he deserve to face criminal charges for something he couldn’t control? This is a fraught scenario for David and for the viewers. How do you determine one’s guilt if they had no comprehension or power over their brain? David watched as he depleted his own accounts, borrowed money from others, all to service a psychological need – an addiction. A fascinating predicament, while also visually giving insight to a case that, on the surface, appears cut and dry.

The goal of any documentary is to make you think and to make you feel, and The Blech Effect does just that in a raw way that does not often occur. This is about more than a federal investigation, and it’s about more than just one man.

The Blech Effect is a true eye-opener into the everyday world of those who struggle with mental illness, and for that, deserves commendation.