I haven't read the novel, and I did not know anything about Wurtzel before watching this, though I understand that she was rather unhappy with how this turned out, and I have no doubt that the book is better(it almost always is, not due to that medium being superior, both have positive aspects to them that the other does not, but adaptations between forms of expression face many difficulties). This is not a pleasant film. It is tense throughout, is not terribly "Hollywood"(meaning, mainstream audiences are not going to expect what this holds), and a lot of people are not going to like it. This is fast-paced, and it could perhaps have helped if there were more dwelling. It doesn't really give you a lot of a chance to take it all in, until the about 90 minutes are up. The acting is excellent, Ricci displays her usual incredible talent, Lange does marvelous, and Biggs turns out to be rather solid. There's not a single poor performance in this. The cinematography, editing and direction are effective. While I haven't watched anything else by Skjoldbjærg, I have been interested in doing so, such as Insomnia, since remade for American audiences by Christopher Nolan(and that version, I have seen, and enjoyed immensely). The writing is magnificent, and everything felt completely credible, characters, occurrences, all of it. This has a little nudity, some sex, disturbing material and relatively infrequent strong language. The DVD holds a few cast interviews, the Anatomy of a Scene episode done on this movie, a theatrical trailer and sneak previews. I recommend this to anyone who thinks it is for them, and who are mature enough to handle it. 7/10
Review of Prozac Nation
