''Prozac Nation'' is a 2001

psychological drama Psychological drama, or psychodrama, is a Genre, subgenre of Drama (film and television), drama and psychological fiction literatures that generally focuses upon the emotional, mental, and psychological development of the protagonists and other c ...

film directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg, starring

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge. Ricci works mostly in Independent film, independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box-office hits. She is ...

Jason Biggs Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor. The accolades he has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, alongside nominations for a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award ...

Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles across a variety of genres in film, television, and theater. She was the recipient of Daytime Emmy, National Board of Review, and GLAAD Media Awards ...

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002), ' ...

, and

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles Jessica Lange on screen and stage, on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominati ...

. It is based on Elizabeth Wurtzel's 1994 memoir of the same name, which describes Wurtzel's experiences with

atypical depression ''Atypical'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Robia Rashid for Netflix. The series takes place in Connecticut, and focuses on the life of 18-year-old Samuel "Sam" Gardner ( Keir Gilchrist), who is autistic. The first ...

. The title is a reference to

Prozac Fluoxetine, sold under the brand name Prozac, among others, is an antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disor ...

, the brand name of an

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...

she was prescribed.

Plot

In 1986, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Wurtzel is a 19-year-old accepted into

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

with a scholarship in journalism. She has been raised by her divorced mother since she was two years old and has not seen her father at all in the last four years. Despite his lack of interest and involvement, Lizzie still misses her father, a contributing factor to her depression. Through a series of flashbacks, it is clear that there was a total communication breakdown between Lizzie's parents, which is soon reflected in Lizzie's own relationship with her mother, Lynne. Soon after arriving at Harvard, Lizzie decides to lose her virginity to an older student, Noah. Lizzie proceeds to alienate Noah by throwing a loss-of-virginity party immediately afterwards with the help of her roommate Ruby. Although she and Lizzie begin as best friends, Ruby soon becomes another casualty of Lizzie's instability. Although Lizzie's article for the local music column in ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

'' is presented an award by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' early into the semester, Lizzie soon finds herself unable to write, stuck in a vicious cycle with substance abuse. Lizzie's promising literary career is at risk, as is her mental and physical health. Lynne sends her to expensive psychiatric sessions with Dr. Sterling towards which her father, pleading poverty, implacably refuses to contribute anything. She begins a relationship with another student, Rafe, but struggles with trust issues and fears of abandonment. During the holiday break, she visits his home in Texas. Upon discovering that his sister is severely

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

, Lizzie accuses Rafe of being "a creepy voyeur" who gets off on witnessing the pain of others. Rafe breaks up with her. Dr. Sterling prescribes Lizzie medication to cope with her spiraling depression following her breakup. Meanwhile, Lynne is hospitalized after a violent mugging. Lizzie helps take care of her, and a relationship of honesty, accountability, and mutual support develops between them. After a long period of treatment under medication and a suicidal gesture, Lizzie stabilizes and begins to adjust to her life.

Cast

as Elizabeth Wurtzel ** Zoe Miller as young Elizabeth Wurtzel *

as Rafe *

as Dr. Sterling *

as Ruby *

as Noah *

as Lynne Wurtzel *

Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is a four-time Gemini Awards, Gemini Award winner, a three-time Genie Awards, Genie Award nominee, and a Canadian Screen Awards, Canadian Screen Award nominee. He is k ...

as Donald Wurtzel *

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

as himself * Jesse Moss as Sam * Sheila Paterson as Elizabeth's Grandmother

Release

''Prozac Nation'' had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on September 8, 2001 (three days before the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

); distribution rights were acquired by

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

with the intent of giving the film a wider theatrical release. Months of subsequent test screenings and re-edits of the film never led to a broad commercial release. It was released in Norway, Skjoldbjærg's native country, on August 22, 2003. The film was never given a theatrical release in the United States, where it instead premiered on the Starz! channel on March 19, 2005, and was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on July 5, 2005. Frank Deasy, who co-wrote the screenplay, offered his opinion to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' on Miramax's failure to release the film:

Reception

The film received a generally negative reception upon release, scoring 28% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 25 reviews.

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' felt it had a "precise visual style" and that Ricci gave a "smart performance", but criticised some of the editing choices and its overall inability to explore the nuances of depression. In a similarly mixed review, ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

''s Ed Gonzalez felt the visuals were "contrived" and owed more to films like ''

Requiem for a Dream ''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald, and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same ...

'' than to director Skjoldbjærg's own vision, but said of Ricci, " he'ssplendid when the atomic bomb inside her character's head goes off", further commending her chemistry with co-star Lange.

Soundtrack

What follows is a list of the songs that were played according to the end credits. # "The Promise" –

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

# "Mystery Achievement" –

The Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

# "I Will Dare" – The Replacements # " Perfect Day" –

# " Sweet Jane" – Lou Reed # "Keep the Promise" – The Pontiac Brothers # "Ivory Tower" –

The Long Ryders The Long Ryders are an American alternative country and Paisley Underground band, principally active between 1982 and 1987, who have periodically regrouped for brief reunions (2004, 2009, 2014, 2016). In 2019 they released a new studio album � ...

# "Who Is Who" –

Adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

# "The Real West" –

Thin White Rope Thin White Rope was an American Rock music, rock band associated with the Palm Desert Scene, desert rock and Paisley Underground subgenres, fronted by vocalist Guy Kyser. The band released five albums. Origins The band was formed in Davis, Cali ...

# "Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse" –

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2001 films 2001 drama films 2001 independent films 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s German films 2000s psychological drama films American independent films American psychological drama films Eli Lilly and Company English-language German films English-language independent films Films about bipolar disorder Films about depression Films about virginity Films based on memoirs Films directed by Erik Skjoldbjærg Films set in Harvard University Films scored by Nathan Larson Films shot in Boston Films shot in London Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in Vancouver German independent films German psychological drama films