Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Abbigail Bush what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

mindijordan What is so compelling about this story is Jessica Lange's performance and the vulnerability she displays. It is the story of a strong rebellious woman way ahead of the socially acceptable parameters of her generation. For that she suffers innumerable injustices. This film will emotionally drained you. Lange's performance is gut wrenching. It is a love story at it's core. "Harry" truly loved her and when he sees the altered Frances post lobotomy and realizes that the woman he loves is a mere shell of her former self his pain is palatable. This movie left me emotionally drained and it was truly worth it. Simply wonderful.

Irishchatter This does tell a lot about Frances Farmer. She is a woman who has been thorough hell from being a Hollywood star to being a patient in a mental institution. I have no doubt that Hollywood triggered her anxiety, including her mother Lillian who pushed her to go back to Paramount when Frances didn't want to. Seriously, she is a grown adult, she shouldn't have treated her like that. I swear to you, Frances was a really intelligent person and she was way better then the doctors,lawyers and so on who were involved in putting her into an asylum. Of course there you go with ignorance, shutting people with all kinds of problems and not trying to find solutions or goals to make that happen for the individual. Thankfully that ignorance is history even this world is still crazy today with wars!Anyways, Jessica Lange was absolutely amazing and brilliant to play Frances Farmer. It was funny to think herself and her co-star Sam Shepard who played Frances lover Harry York were an actual couple in real life. I guess it was love at first sight on set eh? I have to say, this is a great film to watch even though there is one rape scene that can be extremely uncomfortable to look at and of course, the angry outbursts were upsetting. Two hours is really worth your time and you get interested in the life of Frances Farmer regardless if you know her or not!

a.lampert I watched Frances because I seemed to remember that Kevin Costner had a tiny part at the start of his career and I'm a big fan. I didn't expect necessarily to see anything startling other than what it said on the tin, a film about the real life movie star from the 40's, Frances Farmer, as played by Jessica Lange. I've always admired Jessica Lange as a really good actress but she's never blown me away like some stars do. At least, not until now. Now watching this 1982 movie in 2014 (a bit late, I know), she's completely reversed my previous thoughts about her. Her performance in this picture has to be one of the most dynamic, hypnotic acting stints I've ever seen by an actress. It reminded me a bit of Faye Dunaway in Network (where she won the Oscar). Looking this movie up I saw that Jessica was beaten in 1982 by Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, but if ever an actress was robbed of the Oscar, this performance was it. I'd urge anyone who loves acting at the highest level to watch this movie, just for Jessica Lange's performance, although there is also a very strong backup show by Kim Stanley as her mother. Very long at two and half hours, but I couldn't take my eyes off Jessica Lange's face. It's hard to detect between when she's being charming and when she might suddenly explode. Mesmerizing.

treeline1 This biopic of Frances Farmer traces her life from outspoken teen to Hollywood starlet, followed by long periods of mental illness and barbaric treatment in institutions.Jessica Lange is magnificent as Frances; her performance is riveting and heartbreaking. Sam Shepard co-stars as her lover and Kim Stanley is excellent as her mother.It is never clearly established whether Frances was really mentally ill or just a very high-strung and hard-to-handle alcoholic. The conditions she faced in the asylum were brutal and these scenes are very unpleasant.The whole film is a treat on one hand, as the acting is flawless. The story, however, is unceasingly grim, depressing and exhausting and I won't watch it again.