Contentar
Best movie of this year hands down!
Kodie Bird
True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Allissa
.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
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!
MarieGabrielle
This film is a stand out performance by Jessica Lange, who at this point in time appears in some films as the neurotic mother(as in "Prozac nation"), which covers the issue of clinical depression in a rather convoluted manner.This film details actress Frances Farmer's life, early success, stage and screen, her contempt for Hollywood superficiality and the eventual downward spiral f her career, as well as her sanity.The scenes with esteemed NY playwright Clifford Odets are interesting, well portrayed by Jeffrey DeMunn. Lange looks lovely, fragile yet tough, a defiant and independent spirit, especially considering this was the era of 1930's and 1940's.Her mother is well-portrayed by the rather schizoid Kim Stanley ("Séance for Wet Afternoon'). Ms. Stanley portrays a narcissistic, controlling and even malevolent force in Frances' life.When Frances tires of Hollywood facade and "glamour", she states to her mother she just wants to live her own life, quietly, and rejects Hollywood. This seemed to be the mechanism which enraged her mother, and eventually causes her to have Frances committed to the Western Asylum in Washington State.Many books have been written (although the supposed lobotomy issue has been debunked), but clearly Frances underwent insulin and other barbaric treatments while committed to the barbaric asylum. Lange is very believable here, disheveled, angry, but also edgy and raw. And not necessarily "in the wrong" despite American society and it treatment of emotionally disturbed inmates at the time.In a disturbing scene with psychiatrist, "Dr. Symington" it is evident at the time that railroading patients into involuntary commitment was all too commonplace. Frances may have been a common bipolar patient who would have responded to talk therapy, but this was never given a chance. Indeed, she was never given a chance.The book "Will There Really be a Morning?" is also a good reference for those interested in delving into Frances Farmer's biography. While some have mentioned this film doesn't accurately portray the story, I think overall the audience gets a clear sense of the despair, longing and passion which were interwoven in Miss Farmer's life, and Jessica Lange does an excellent portrayal here. Highly recommended. 9/10.
T Y
At the time Frances was released, a full-court-press of PR for Lange was underway, with Hollywood marketing departments insisting that we all loved Lange, and that she was some sort of prodigy. Many people fell for this. And Brooksfilms was being rightfully criticized ("Whose Life is It, Anyway?" American Film) for cynically noting that a few lives of interest were now in the public domain (Frances Farmer, The Elephant Man) and getting a movie out before the other productions could finish theirs.Those matters aside, Frances is not very edifying. What audience was such a miserable story intended to capture? The story-arc goes from depressing to even more emphatically depressing. Harry York is a piece of fiction. The most I can muster is a grudging respect for a movie that will show a protagonist combatting a pair of insane parents; and one extra star for some infrequent, nice compositions.
gcd70
Jessica Lange has delivered an outstanding tour-de-force in this horrifying true story about a somewhat unstable Hollywood actress who was continually pronounced insane by her mother for nothing more than open defiance. Miss Lange's performance is hardly short of incredible, and more than deserved the Oscar nomination it garnered.Graeme Clifford tells this shocking tale with the utmost assuredness, never hitting the audience overly hard (in fact perhaps not hard enough) nor attempting to sway their opinion. The screenplay from Eric Bergren, Nicholas Kazan and Christopher De Vore is even throughout, and always the writers are careful to avoid bias, allowing film goers to come to their own conclusions.Frances Farmer is never portrayed as a complete victim by Lange, and each facet of her personality is brought to life with equal passion in this unparalleled turn. In most worthy support is Kim Stanley (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) whose performance as Frances' self-serving, domineering mother is frighteningly efficient and convincing. Alongside her is Bart Burns as Mr. Farmer, and Sam Shepherd as a young admirer who takes the wayward girl under his wing for a time. John Barry has provided a typically melodic score."Frances" is certainly a movie that will disturb those who believe that insanity is more an illness than something a person can be driven to. This is truly a very discomforting look at how the human spirit can be totally crushed by tragic, though changeable, circumstances. An original story like this carries enough weight on its own to impart much dramatic power. Coupled with Jessica Lange's triumphant performance (she literally owns this film), this is doubly so.Monday, June 12, 1995 - Video
