55 Steps

55 Steps is a 2017 German-Belgian drama film directed by Bille August and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Hilary Swank, and Jeffrey Tambor. The film is based on the true story of Eleanor Riese. Premise The story is about a woman committed to a mental health facility. Prior to 1987, it was assumed that the Lanterman–Petris–Short Act allowed involuntary treatment for those who were detained under an initial three-day hold (for evaluation and treatment) and a subsequent fourteen-day hospitalization (for those patients declared after the three-day hold to be dangerous to themselves or others or gravely disabled). In 1987, in Riese v. St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center, the California State Court of Appeals declared that these patients had the right to exercise informed consent regarding the use of antipsychotic drugs, except in an emergency, and if they rejected medication "a judicial determination of their incapacity to make treatment decisions" was required before they could be involuntarily treated. This case was a class action suit brought in the name of patient Eleanor Riese by the California ACLU. Cast Release The film had its world premiere in the Gala Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Its theatrical release began in Germany on 3 May 2018.