I really argue Christina Ricci’s ability to capture what Wertzel was trying to depict in her book. I thought that someone else should have taken on this project and played the lead role.
Instead of being a dark and tortured artist, she was annoying and whiny. The only reason I empathized for the movie character of Lizzy is because I hated her parents. The chaos there was evident, but why in the world anyone would see her as someone who “feels everything deep down” and thinks that her selfishness was a good quality made no sense.
This did not do the book justice because from what I remember from years back when I read it, Wertzel went into detail of her breakdowns and the whys of her depression, not just a bunch of ridiculous acts that tried to show depression rather than try to explain it.

Was this anything like the bestseller it was based on? I’ve got to believe the book was better. I could not relate to the main character’s depression, suicidal tendencies, introversion or disregard for the lives of everyone who cared about her well being. Jessica Lange’s acting as Elizabeth’s uptight, stressed-out mother was the brightest point in an otherwise dark movie.

I’ve never read the book; however, this movie made me want to read it. I am sure the book will be better than the movie.

Anyhow, I was quite disturbed by Ricci’s character; however, I guess that was the point of the movie.

I wanted to see more of the interactions between Ricci and her counselor. I was always intrigued by those sessions.

Spoiler Warning

This movie was a complete waste of time. The main character has bad parents and turns out screwed up. This doesn’t really manifest itself until she is in Harvard and wins an award for her writing. The rest of the movie is her making bad decisions and acting completely insane.

At the end, literally the last few seconds, we find out that the prozac she started taking was helping her to be able to handle her depression. Her life goes back to normal and we see some stats on people taking anti-depressants. Now this may have been meant to leave me coming away feeling that there is something wrong because everyone is depressed. It didn’t. It made the movie seem like a really long public service announcement to make sure you take prescription drugs for your depression.

Unless you have never been sad, or are curious to know if depression can really screw up your life, which this movie says it most likley not the case, skip this movie.

With a film based on a true-life story of depression it’s a challenge to portray the person and the effect of the illness on those around them in a way that is watchable. In Prozac Nation it’s not always fun to watch, but skillful direction and a great performance from Christina Ricci manage to capture the highs and lows in a way that kept me watching and also gave me some insight. There are moments that I found amazing in the film in terms of the staging and shooting and editing. The film isn’t for everyone, but I found it worthwhile watching and I’m puzzled why it took so long for it to be released.

I think the book is probably better but the film was pretty interesting. Christina Ricci does well with the troubled girl role and she excels in this one. It provided an interesting look at the effects of depression and how one needs to look at all the factors that effect how people deal with it and with those closest to them.

i read the book and it’s christina ricci so i figure i should check it out.