Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Benedito Dias Rodrigues this picture watched for first time in 1988 on TV, now on DVD in plenty way this biography of Francis Farmer starring Jessica Lange in great performance together with veteran Kim Stanley is really good and well done for the director and producers who listen many sources to tell the history But, have contradictions in the movie mainly about if really Francis Farmer was lobotomized...so have doubt about it among another events dramatized in this picture...maybe the truth never came out because Francis Farmer and your mother already died!!! but stay the picture as one source how Francis Farmer could be in real life!!Hope watch some documentary to compare both versions will be better to have a conclusion!

brefane Overly long, pointless, standard issue biopic that doesn't seem to know what to make of Frances Farmer who never was a big film star, but who was apparently a big train wreck, and so is the film. She's portrayed as a victim of the press, the law, the studio, the medical profession and her mother. Hollywood and the world in general appear to exist for the sole purpose of making her life hell. And the sole purpose of the film seems to be to earn an Oscar for Lange by giving her a series of show downs that has her shrieking at and/or physically assaulting any and everyone, and though Lange does indeed resemble Farmer, she's largely shrill and one-note making Farmer look like an obnoxious, self righteous, self appointed martyr; a Lindsay Lohan with delusions of grandeur. The film is a dud and Sam Shephard plays a fabricated character who wanders in and out of the proceedings in an attempt to provide an unfocused script with a sense of structure. It's a mess, and the scenes set in the mental institution recall such camp classics as The Caretakers(1963) and Valley of the Dolls (1967). Kim Stanley who plays Frances' mother gave a powerful performance in The Goddess (1958) as a lonely, unloved, unwanted girl who sought fame as a way to escape her emptiness, but discovered Hollywood was not a cure nor as the film had it the cause of her unhappiness. Frances lacks that insight and observation.

punishmentpark Indeed, Nirvana's song 'Frances Farmer will have her revenge on Seattle' lead me to this title faster than I may have otherwise found it. There is a lot of interesting, but unfortunately largely contradictory reading to be found on the net about her (I am yet to see a movie with her in it), and at this point I couldn't tell you what to believe. Her own statements in the book 'Sexual abuse in the lives of women diagnosed with serious mental illness' are shocking: she recounted her stay in the state asylum as "unbearable terror"; "I was raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food. I was chained in padded cells, strapped into strait-jackets and half-drowned in ice baths." These claims have been disputed, though, and William Arnold had to admit before court his claim about her lobotomy was 'fictionalized' (though at that time there wére apparently lobotomies performed by a doctor of the same name as the one in the film).It is certainly clear though that she has had to put with a lot of hardship in her life, but the film hardly conveys an adequate story for the first sixty minutes; there are parts that work (also because the film has such a beautiful look to it - with all the wonderful settings, clothes and camera work), but on the whole the story feels like a pile-up of events. The story(telling) dóes get better and more gripping toward the end, as does Jessica Lange's acting (but that also has to do with the fact that she is simply too old to play the part of the very young Frances in the beginning of it), but because of all the aforementioned uncertainties, the horrific parts toward the end, when Frances is once again institutionalized against her will, and subsequently lobotomized and gang raped, feel somewhat compromised - it's a shame.Even though the facts of 'Frances' are uncertain, this film is still very much worthwhile. And beyond that, it has certainly motivated me to want to dig deeper into (the truth about) her life, to go see some of her films and find out more about (mal)treatment in psychiatric institutions then and now.A big 7 out of 10 for now.

LeonLouisRicci Jessica Lange's Acting in this Film is one of the Best Performances In Motion Picture History and is Pitch Perfect in every way. She plays Real Life Hollywood "Star" Frances Farmer that was Completely Forgotten except for the most Die Hard of Movie Fans. Her Story is told here and it has been Criticized for not being Accurate on all Accounts. But although She as a Real Person who did Attain some Fame, from this Picture's Point of View that can be seen as Irrelevant. A Sounding Board and an Outlet to Explore the Human Condition, Institutional Tyranny and Malpractice with a Central Character that is Inviting, Intelligent, Talented, Rebellious, Committed, Deep, and Forever Looking for Love in a World that can be Loveless.A Tragic Tale of Dramatic Dissidence and its Consequences in a Society both Culturally and within the Family Structure that Expects, and Sometimes Demands Conformity and Obedience. Frances is a Free Spirit that cannot fit in. She is Haunted and Troubled by Life Itself. The Movie is a Fascinating Show Piece of Significance that is Spellbinding, and Haunting, Disturbing and Determined. It is a Timeless Tale and a Cautionary Movie that is so Deeply Layered it Completely Covers the Viewer in its Sincere Ability to use the Life of Frances Farmer to make Statements about the Insensitivity and Unfairness of it All. She would, most likely, Proudly Approve.