PLOT: A young woman (Christina Ricci) struggles with depression during her first year at Harvard. Based on Elizabeth Wurtzel's novel.

I saw this film, after reading the excellent book by Elizabeth Wurtzel. I had very high hopes, but unfortunately, they weren't meet in this one. Maybe be I was expecting it to live up to Girl, Interrupted, starring Winona Ryder. But there was just something that didn't quite work in Prozac Nation. Still, there's no denying that Ricci gave everything she had to this project, creating an incendiary performance that's startling in its starkness. She refuses to soften up the tart-tongued, often obnoxious Wurtzel, nor does she comfort the audience with little "Can you believe how nasty I am?" asides the way many actresses do when they're called upon to play unlikable characters.

The movie, though, is perhaps too crystal clear. Ricci and the other actors are very good at establishing exactly what kind of people their characters are and how they will respond in all circumstances. Consequently, there are few surprises. No one can step out of character to lend Lizzie a helping hand. In fact, the movie is practically a commercial for medication over human compassion, which is unfortunate though possibly true in many cases.

Skjoldbjaerg's attempts to visualize Lizzie's moods through speed-ed-up action and fuzzy double images remind you of bad student films of the '70s and '80s, it was awful. Otherwise, he directs with intelligence and is smart enough to realize that with Ricci as his star, the less fuss the better. Cinematographer Erling Thurmann-Andersen goes for somber, dark tones, while editor James Lyons moves things along at a crisp pace.

Overall, I wasn't terribly impressed by this film. Christina Ricci's performance was amazing, and touched me, it pushes the film up about a mile. Maybe you should read the book, then watch the film and decide for yourself, but in comparison between them, I prefer the book. This thin drama is only 98 minutes long, but it moves so slowly, it feels like the cinematic equivalent of reading a book with very small amounts of text, could have been much better with a different director and script. OK, but not what I thought I'd see, it is certainly worth it for Ricci fans though, which is definitely me.

6.1/10

See It If You Liked: Girl, Interrupted, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, The Basketball Diaries, Thirteen