Reviews

Watching Prozac Nation is a confusing experience. This is supposed to be *the* film about depression, adapted from the memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel which is revered by neurotic teenage girls everywhere. I just could not bring myself to empathize with this beautiful, middle-class "literary freak" who has her life cut out for her at the expense of nearly everyone around her. The alienated Lizzie is taken by her doting, overworked mother to the most prestigious college in the world, immediately clicks with her new bff, goes to parties, drinks and does drugs, falls in love and gets paid to do what she loves writing rock reviews for Rolling Stone magazine. I don't imagine many young people who suffer with major depression can relate to this. I understand and respect that depression is something which can affect anyone (in fact, there is a proved correlation between material security and depression), but the film doesn't even attempt to thematically explore that. Instead of showing her context of thoughts and emotions, she spends half of the film screaming hysterically and insulting people. The only context we get is some clumsily tacked-on monologue, presumably pulled from the book. It is not an intelligent, cinematic development which leaves us with any feeling of why the character does the things she does. She just comes off as spoiled and conceited.

Before the credits roll, we are told that "In the US, more than 300 million prescriptions are filled every year for prozac and other anti- depressants", leaving one with the impression that this was *supposed* to be an anti-drugs film. Funny that, as the subject of medication is only briefly alluded to at the end of the film with a scene that literally has all the subtlety of a succession of people collecting their prescriptions and Lizzie looking on thoughtfully. Hardly a critical commentary on an increasingly medicated America.

One good thing about Prozac Nation is that there are some great lines in it, some nuggets of wisdom which I can only assume is to be credited to the book rather than anyone to do with the film. Lizzie describes depression as occurring "gradually, then suddenly" (a reference to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises), and at the end of the film realises that recovery happens the same way. There is also quite a disturbing scene where we see that her apathy and her suicidality has affected her so profoundly that she's "not even afraid of heights anymore", illustrating her grim detachment from material reality.

Though I have not read the book, I got the feeling that Wurtzel's undoubtedly highly personal narratives simply did not translate well into film. The complexity of the topic perhaps evaded the producers, who wanted to make an artsy, marketable film that would be enjoyed by a teenage demographic. There are many complications resulting from teenage depression: The pressure to "get better". The guilt of having a parent spend so much money on your therapy with no guarantee that it'll "work". The frustration of not having anyone understand you and not being able to articulate your experience. Where the film attempts to convey any of this, it falls short as we are distracted by Christina Ricci's annoying pretensions.

All in all, Prozac Nation does not do justice to the highly complex topic that it has taken on. If the "beautiful and tragic" character trope annoys you to high hell… then watch this film anyway because it's fun to complain about things.

The Magdalene Sisters chronicles the experiences of three young girls in the infamous Magdalene Laundries. The Laundries were Catholic clergy-run organizations in operation from the 19th century up until the late 20th century in Ireland. Girls were sent to work in these institutions for suspicion of having sex outside of marriage, showing provocative character, or for simply being "too pretty". Mullen succeeds in exposing the outright abuse that went on in these institutions at a time when the Church was seen to be Ireland's highest moral authority.

The film focuses on the stories of three "fallen" girls who have all been landed in the Laundries for sins they didn't commit. What is most shocking about this film is the utter sadism and cruelty of the nuns who run the asylum. They force the girls to work beyond endurance in abysmal conditions, and routinely subject them to humiliation of an unthinkable nature. In one scene, the nuns line the naked girls up and judge who is the hairiest, who has the biggest breasts, etc. Mullen wanted the girls to appear natural, and insisted that the they not shave themselves or pluck their eyebrows prior to and during filming. No one is wearing make-up and all the girls wear the same unflattering garb. This adds to the realism of the film and brings his asylum closer to the real Laundries.

The clever polarization of character personalities made for some interesting clashes. There is Bernadette, who is fiery and headstrong; Margaret, a responsible girl with a strong sense of morality. Rose, whose good nature endeared me quickly to her. And Crispina, who is just plain bonkers. I found the development of Margaret's character to be particularly interesting: The more oppression she is subjected to, the more she comes to value her independence. This all culminates until her brother finally comes to collect her after four years. Upon realising her newfound freedom, she wont even have her brother tell her to hurry so they can get going: "Don't you dare tell me what to do! Don't you ever dare tell me what to do!"

Eileen Walsh was brilliant in this movie. Her portrayal of the simple but eccentric inmate Crispina certainly added a lot of colour to the film. Despite the obviously bleak theme, there are some humorous moments in the film and these usually involve Crispina. This was a very difficult role to take on, as Crispina's theatrical and over-dramatic personality required Walsh to portray such a wide array of emotions. So convincing was Walsh's performance that I found myself feeling real compassion for the girl. She's not all there and is virtually clueless about the world, which makes her fate all the more poignant. Walsh sacrificed vanity more than any of the other girls for this role, which is also to be admired. Her performance stood out for me as one of the highlights of the film.

This film should appeal to the secular-minded and those who are critical of religion in general. I don't know if Mullen himself holds any biases in this area, but he certainly succeeds in highlighting just how detrimental an effect fundamentalism can have on a society. It has torn the girls' families apart, stripped them of their independence and, for some of them, has resulted is the considerable deterioration of their mental health. The girls enter the asylum as strong, healthy individuals who, over time, come to forget how to interact properly with other people and find it difficult to distinguish what is real and what isn't. One of the prevailing themes in The Magdalene Sisters is the hypocrisy of devout Christians, who claim to model themselves off of Christ, yet are so un Christ-like in their treatment of the "fallen" in society. This is especially true of the nuns, who are supposed to serve as women of Christ, yet fail to follow in his example of forgiveness and love.

One aspect of this movie I found particularly interesting was its depiction how society viewed women in the era. The treatment of the Magdalene girls raises questions about the injustices and double-standards which existed in the early 20th century. Even though the girls of Magdalene are not at fault for being raped, getting pregnant or simply being attractive, it is the women who are punished and ostracised.

The crew did a great job of recreating the atmosphere of the old Irish Laundries. Most of the film is shot in dimly lit conditions, to emphasize the bleak and gloomy feel of the place. We get a brief glimpse of the beautiful Irish countryside when Margaret steps outside the grounds of Magdalene and becomes disorientated as she surveys the outside world. She is startled by the light and beauty of freedom, which is in stark contrast to her confinement in the Laundries. Sound is also manipulated to great effect. I really got the feel of an old, spacious dank church as every sound is clearly heard resonating off the stone walls. I think the echo was supposed to simulate that constant feeling of being alone which pervaded the asylum.

The shocking nature of this film may prompt the viewer who has had no prior knowledge of the Magdalene asylums to question how accurate a representation it is of the actual Laundries. Indeed, I myself found it hard to accept that the asylums could be this bad until I watched Steve Humphries' 1998 documentary "Sex in a Cold Climate", on which this film is based, and found the reality to be just as harrowing as the adaptation. In fact, one of the inmates told Mullen that the reality of the Laundry was much worse than what is depicted in the film.

I really can't recommend this film enough. It was moving, entertaining, and shocking enough to hold my attention until the final credits rolled. Expect to have a seething hatred of Irish nuns instilled in you. 10/10