Evan presents with several dangerous overlapping mental/behavioral disorders…The most obvious of which shows throughout the two part fiasco that could and should end both her own career as well as Amy Berg's. Despite ERW's nightmarish account of a relationship that ended 12 years ago, I was left with an overwhelming sense of doubt for just about everything she says during the documentary and well beyond. The two were a couple for 2 years during this time w/sporadic breaks. She claims the PTSD is caused by years of constant emotional, physical, mental, sexual abuse and/or torture she suffered at the hand of Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson.ERW and Manson were romantically involved off and on from 2007-2010. Wood tells us early on she suffers from PTSD. The film is supposed to chronicle ERW's brave journey from abuse victim to survivor. It never lets up…yet it never actually accomplishes or delivers anything outside of a troubling glimpse into the delusional and disordered mind of dangerously vindictive woman scorned who is clearly on a mission to destroy. This extreme and perplexing sort of behavior sets the tone for Berg's documentary "Phoenix Rising"….and it never lets up. As a classically trained actress…this should have been an easy role for Evan to pull off, but noticeably she seems to veer off track into an almost frenzied mania while on this topic. She chatters on about this very personal subject almost gleefully in what I viewed to be a deliberate attempt at a childlike manner. Alongside the random and oddly out of place cartoon illustrations depicting Wood as the innocent little girl character "Alice" from Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland…I notice Evan seems excitedly eager to discuss her lifelong battle with mental health issues. ERW's family is quickly introduced and we are given a carefully selected glimpse into Evan's childhood and family life.
It starts off on what I suppose is the film's high note with Wood being quite cheerful and chatty with Amy Berg. This is due largely in-part to Evan Rachel Wood's extreme duplicity and over the top behavior throughout the entirety of the two-part film. Phoenix Rising is truly painful to watch.