Frances (1982)

The story of Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange), a popular film actress of the 1930s and 40s and her struggle with the studio system as well as mental illness. Directed by Graeme Clifford, the film is an above average movie biography but it still conforms to the standard cliches of the genre. Farmer's life was certainly a heartbreaking one but the film embellishes the narrative with fictional material as well as "facts" that have been disputed. The movie gives her a lover (Sam Shepard) who stands by her during her tumultuous life but he's totally fabricated and ends with her lobotomy which has been discredited but it makes for good drama. But the film contains a genuinely great performance by Lange, arguably her best (she thinks it is) and the power of her performance erases all the flaws of the movie. It's the kind of performance once seen, never forgotten. The most interesting aspect of the film is the mother (the superb Kim Stanley) and daughter relationship and an entire movie could have been made detailing their story. Apparently the original cut ran three hours and was cut down to two hours, 20 minutes and most of the mother/daughter story ended on the cutting room floor. The evocative score is by John Barry. With Jeffrey DeMunn as Clifford Odets, Bart Burns, James Karen, Gerald S. O'Loughlin and Anne Haney.