jannghi I was glad to see that this was recently on one of the movie channels, since the DVD isn't available from Netflix. I'd just read the book. As someone currently prescribed to Prozac, this was a must for me, to see how--if at all-- I could identify with the character from the book/movie. Some incidents were identifiable to me. The events depicted occurred over 20 years ago, but there are still many people on Prozac today. Coming to accept that you have depression may be hard for some people, but I came to accept it and learned not to be ashamed to admit I have been on this med. This film seems to convey that message. Don't be afraid to admit you feel depressed. You can be helped.

SnoopyStyle Lizzie Wurtzel is a strange loner in high school living with her divorced mother (Jessica Lange). She starts her studies in Harvard as a writer. Ruby (Michelle Williams) is her new roommate. She loses her virginity to Noah (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and throws a party for the occasion. She becomes promiscuous with sex and drugs. In 1985, her writing even gets into Rolling Stone magazine. The return of his father (Nicholas Campbell) disturbs her. She falls into obsessions, drug addictions and continues her lifelong depression. Her friends bring her to therapist Dr. Sterling (Anne Heche). She cheats with Ruby's boyfriend. She also has writer's block. She starts dating Rafe (Jason Biggs) seeing him as her savior.I appreciate Elizabeth Wurtzel trying to bring her life experience onto the screen. However I don't think it's dramatic enough. At least, it's not dramatic as filmed by Erik Skjoldbjærg. It's like her illness. The movie is a trying experience. I have a difficult time trying to feel alongside her character. Maybe if I had similar mental problem, I could empathize with the character. The movie may become more compelling.

sketchfordawn Watching Prozac Nation is a confusing experience. This is supposed to be *the* film about depression, adapted from the memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel which is revered by neurotic teenage girls everywhere. I just could not bring myself to empathize with this beautiful, middle-class "literary freak" who has her life cut out for her at the expense of nearly everyone around her. The alienated Lizzie is taken by her doting, overworked mother to the most prestigious college in the world, immediately clicks with her new bff, goes to parties, drinks and does drugs, falls in love and gets paid to do what she loves writing rock reviews for Rolling Stone magazine. I don't imagine many young people who suffer with major depression can relate to this. I understand and respect that depression is something which can affect anyone (in fact, there is a proved correlation between material security and depression), but the film doesn't even attempt to thematically explore that. Instead of showing her context of thoughts and emotions, she spends half of the film screaming hysterically and insulting people. The only context we get is some clumsily tacked-on monologue, presumably pulled from the book. It is not an intelligent, cinematic development which leaves us with any feeling of why the character does the things she does. She just comes off as spoiled and conceited.Before the credits roll, we are told that "In the US, more than 300 million prescriptions are filled every year for prozac and other anti- depressants", leaving one with the impression that this was *supposed* to be an anti-drugs film. Funny that, as the subject of medication is only briefly alluded to at the end of the film with a scene that literally has all the subtlety of a succession of people collecting their prescriptions and Lizzie looking on thoughtfully. Hardly a critical commentary on an increasingly medicated America.One good thing about Prozac Nation is that there are some great lines in it, some nuggets of wisdom which I can only assume is to be credited to the book rather than anyone to do with the film. Lizzie describes depression as occurring "gradually, then suddenly" (a reference to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises), and at the end of the film realises that recovery happens the same way. There is also quite a disturbing scene where we see that her apathy and her suicidality has affected her so profoundly that she's "not even afraid of heights anymore", illustrating her grim detachment from material reality.Though I have not read the book, I got the feeling that Wurtzel's undoubtedly highly personal narratives simply did not translate well into film. The complexity of the topic perhaps evaded the producers, who wanted to make an artsy, marketable film that would be enjoyed by a teenage demographic. There are many complications resulting from teenage depression: The pressure to "get better". The guilt of having a parent spend so much money on your therapy with no guarantee that it'll "work". The frustration of not having anyone understand you and not being able to articulate your experience. Where the film attempts to convey any of this, it falls short as we are distracted by Christina Ricci's annoying pretensions. All in all, Prozac Nation does not do justice to the highly complex topic that it has taken on. If the "beautiful and tragic" character trope annoys you to high hell… then watch this film anyway because it's fun to complain about things.

disdressed12 for me,Prozac Nation was just blah.it didn't engage me on any level.i didn't care about the main character,or any of the characters,for that matter.i just didn't see the point of it.usually after watching a movie,i come to this site soon after and put in my two cents.this time i couldn't really be bothered until now,almost two weeks later.anyway,suffice to say,i didn't get anything out of the movie.basically i lost ninety five +/- minutes i'll never get back,in which i could have been doing something else more productive.if you do end up watching this movie and mange to get to the halfway point,and decide to watch to the end,(like i did)thinking it will get better,trust me,it won't.but that's just my opinion.for me,Prozac Nation is a 4/10