Thin

Lauren Greenfield's 2005 documentary follows four women at an eating disorder treatment centre in Florida. Greenfield stayed at the facility for months and took the camera inside the treatment process, into group therapy and to the dining tables. The hardest thing in it is that recovery does not follow a straight line. The women accept treatment, then refuse it, and their insurance runs out and they are discharged mid-course. The film underlines that last point in particular: the system sets the length of stay by capacity to pay rather than by the illness. Greenfield came from photography and it shows in the images; the framing is close, the light hard, the look at the body direct. That directness also drew ethical debate about the film. Who it's for: those able to watch documentaries about eating disorders and the health system. Who it's not for: viewers who need to avoid triggering content around anorexia and bulimia; the film shows weight, calories and bodies explicitly.