Frances (1982)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Eric Bergren, Christopher Devore and Nicholas Kazan
Original Songs & Music by John Barry
Directed by Graeme Clifford
Starring Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Kim Stanley, Bart Burns
Features:

• Running audio commentary with director Clifford
  
• Featurette: "A Hollywood Life: Remembering Frances"
  

My Advice: Rent it

Frances Farmer (Lange) was a famous actress during the time in the industry when it was still under the Studio System. In other words, if the movie studios decided that they wanted to make you a star, they did. Of course, the reverse was also true. If they didn't want you to be a star, then you were not a star anymore. However, they weren't quite ready for Ms. Farmer. She fought the studios with everything she had. She said from the beginning that she was only using Hollywood to help her to achieve her dream of being one of Broadway's leading actresses and she didn't care who she told. She was very a very outspoken woman for her time. As it turns out, she was a little too outspoken...for her time.

What an outstanding story. Lange is simply perfect as Farmer. Not only that, but her co-stars are equally as well-suited in their roles. Shepard and Lange have an almost eerily believable relationship on screen in this movie. I guess this should not be surprising, since they began their real-life relationship together on the set. Stanley is downright evil in her role as Frances' domineering mother. Even though this movie was not a huge hit when it first came out, it certainly wasn't because of lack of quality. My guess is that it was just so damn depressing.

I'm not giving anything away when I tell you that at the end of the story, Farmer is institutionalized for being a woman out of control, and she is eventually lobotomized. That's right, it's not spoilers if it's known history, folks. But anyway, I just don't think people wanted to watch this kind of movie in 1982. That having been said, I'm glad the movie was made, because it has definitely left us with one of Lange's finest performances. I'm sure that clips from this movie will be in her Academy Award Lifetime Achievement reel one day down the line.

The DVD is a decent treatment of the movie and the subject matter. There is a new featurette that was put together for this edition that gives us interviews not only with the stars (at least, those who are still with us), but also Hollywood historians. To hear Lange's take on her portrayal of the role is priceless, but when you add in the fact that they also merge this with a kind of historical documentary about the life of the real Frances Farmer, it's a winning combination. Even the commentary is right on track. Clifford has just the right balance of retrospect and behind-the-scenes gossip to keep it interesting without it getting too heavy-handed and boring. There are also trailers for the movie as well as bios for the cast and crew; which, as I've said a number of times, have become very commonplace on DVDs these days.

Still, this falls squarely in the rental category. I really believe that only true fans of Lange's work would want to add this to their collection permanently, but do make sure you rent the thing and watch it.