When traveling healer is at risk of being exposed, even he is surprised by the lengths he will take to protect his ego

Human beings always seem to have a desire to be important, valuable or irreplaceable. Whether that is through fame, wealth or power, humans seek significance over others. At its core, Heal Thyself is a film about pride. Character Pat Neeman’s heist is not stealing money, but rather is manipulating desperate people into elevating his self image. His deluded view of himself, in turn, dictates his warped reaction to confrontation. When someone’s ego is that distorted, his reaction rejecting criticism can only be just as skewed.

Heal Thyself dealt with so many weird things at once

Matt Black (Monitor, Petty) is a fantastic writer that I’m (Tim) a huge fan of so when he posted on his instagram that he had some scripts laying around, I immediately reached out and read them. Heal Thyself was such an interesting story since it dealt with so many weird things at once. The Character of Pat Neeman seems pretty straight forward at first glance but hopefully the deeper you look at him, the more you realize his true motivations. We never show money or the transfer of it in the film. We start the film with Neeman on his knees, alone. He doesn’t have to keep pretending when no one is there, yet he does. The film was shot in less than 20 hours, was self funded and was made by people that just want to tell stories.

Directed by Timothy Parsons, Heal Thyself is a story told in two tempos. While the opening minute calmly introduces our main character and setting, we quickly merge into an intense uncut shot that lasts close to seven full minutes. We witness the healer’s routine performance as we race around the church, through the isles and up and down the floors as his cons begin to be exposed. All timed with a beating soundtrack that keeps us on our toes. The second part enters us into a more subdued and nervous setting. Short cuts frame the intensely rising confrontations and dialogues all from within an office room. The film holds an excellent progression and some memorable performances from the leads George Macaluso and Jim France.