Frances
Director: Graeme Clifford
Year: 1982
Country: USA
Duration: 140 mins
Rating: 15
Cast: Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley and Sam Shepard
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"Frances Elena Farmer is a rebel from a young age, winning a high school award by writing an essay called "God Dies". Determining to become an actress, Frances is equally determined not to play the Hollywood game: she refuses to acquiesce to publicity stunts, and insists upon appearing on screen without makeup. Her defiance attracts the attention of Broadway playwright Clifford Odets, who convinces Frances that her future rests with the Group Theatre. But once she leaves Hollywood, Frances learns to her chagrin that the Group Theatre intends to exploit her fame in order to draw in customers. Her desperate attempts to restart her movie career, combined with her increasing dependence on alcohol and the pressures brought to bear by her mother, result in a complete nervous breakdown. While institutionalized, Frances is abused by the powers-that-be; she is forced to undergo a brain operation, is treated with cruelty, and periodically raped by the male orderlies and visiting soldiers and eventually involuntarily lobotomized."