The actor saw his therapist on the day that Jonah Hill’s brother Jordan Feldstein passed away suddenly.
Hill confesses to his therapist Phil Stutz in his most recent movie that he spends a lot of time trying to avoid thinking about that particular day. “I stepped inside your office. My life’s most stressful day was without a doubt that one. ”.
Currently streaming on Netflix, Stutz is a brand-new Hill documentary that feels like it shouldn’t work but does. The 38-year-old A-list actor, known for his parts in films like Superbad, 21 Jump Street, and The Wolf of Wall Street, decided to make a movie in which he spoke with his therapist, renowned psychiatrist Phil Stutz.
First, Hill makes the case that the movie isn’t about him, but rather about Stutz and the cognitive-behavioral strategies that, in Hill’s opinion, helped Stutz get through his most trying time. But at some point, Hill does acknowledge that the movie is at least partially about him.
He makes an effort to talk about his late brother, who died in 2017 at the age of 40 from a heart attack. (Hill learned while filming the narrative that Stutz also lost a brother, when the therapist was only 9 and his sibling was only 3 years old. ).
Hill asserts that he met with Stutz the day after finding out about the death of his brother. Stutz asked Hill for his phone so he could take a photo of the actor while they were there. Hill queries Stutz, “I wondered why you did that”.
Stutz responds, “It is exceedingly rare in life that you get the chance to record something at the most pressing, crucial moment. You then go back to it a week or a year later. The forces of recovery and healing are all around you at that time”.
Hill nods in agreement and tells Stutz that it’s been four years since he’s looked at the picture. But after going through the process of grieving, which included working on this movie with Stutz, he feels ready to face it now.
He peers at the image with Stutz while holding a printed copy of it. According to Hill, “I look bare of all fake. I have a strangely calm expression on my face. Perhaps though, because it obliterated everything unimportant”.
Stutz comments on the picture, stating that it depicts a person who has been through hell and has emerged unscathed. Hill displays the image for the audience to see, seemingly moved by Stutz’s words.
Stutz’s “loss processing” techniques have lessened Hill’s sadness, but he makes it clear that they weren’t a quick fix.
Hill continues by explaining how they worked.
He claims, “I still feel that pain every day.”. “I still miss my brother. ”.
Hill also talked about his problem with being overweight as a child and the years he spent earlier in the film industry struggling with his body image. It might seem like no big deal, or “poor you,” or something similar, but for him personally, he claims that it seriously messed him up.
Hill first began seeing Stutz when he was 33 years old as a result of that struggle. But Hill wants to face this beast head-on, just as he did with his brother. A cardboard cutout of himself from when he was 14 years old holds his attention.
I was in excellent physical shape and had a great career at the age of 33. All of which ought to have eliminated this version of myself,” recalls Hill, indicating the cardboard cutout. “I reasoned that if I was successful, they wouldn’t pay attention. When I finally did, all the people did was keep saying that. ”.
Hill admits that it took him a lot of effort to accept and value the person he was 14 years ago. But he admits that it’s difficult, especially in the face of mockery and cheap shots from the media. Although The Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for an Oscar, his prosperous career couldn’t give him the comfort he was seeking.
“It made me beyond depressed,” said Hill, “when success didn’t cure any of that stuff”.
“At the same time, my weight continued to draw harsh criticism from the media. Everyone had the right to physically harm me. I grew very protective as a result”.
Hill goes on to say that until he met Stutz, he was unable to begin to successfully ignore the negative and form his own opinion of himself.
Hill made the decision to take care of himself by declining to take part in a Stutz promotional tour. Even his social media accounts were deleted.
Hill said in a statement, “You won’t see me out there promoting this movie or any of my upcoming movies while I take this crucial step to protect myself. If I promoted the movie in a way that made me feel worse, I wouldn’t be true to myself or the film. ”.
The artwork will speak for itself. ”.
