#HOTDOCS: “ANY GIVEN DAY”

By Justin Waldman

The United States penal system is broken, Any Given Day proves that. One town in Chicago, specifically Chicago’s Cook County Mental Health Court offers people with any mental illness a rehabilitation program instead of traditional probation but under the same restrictions as probation. While this is a step in the right direction, after the program ends people are left to their own devices, and any relapse or reconviction for anything caused by their mental health would lead to a felony charge and make their lives almost impossible to carry on.

Any Given Day is a difficult watch, because it is real, it shows how hard it is to live with a mental illness and the constant struggle to overcome and try to live ones life. Every day is a struggle, and that is exemplified throughout but with every goal achieved it further proves there is always a light, even in the darkest tunnels.