The Bell Jar (1979)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Larry Peerce

Writers:

Marjorie Kellogg (writer)
Sylvia Plath (novel)

Release Date:

26 October 1981 (Sweden)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Sometimes just being a woman is an act of courage.

Plot:

Julie Harris in an adaptation of Plath's autobiographical novel, which details a young woman's summer...

Plot Keywords:

Disc Jockey | Autobiographical | Magazine Editor | 1950s | Overdose

Cast

Marilyn Hassett	...	Esther Greenwood
Julie Harris	...	Mrs. Greenwood
Jameson Parker	...	Buddy Willard
Anne Jackson	...	Dr. Nolan
Barbara Barrie	...	Jay Cee
Robert Klein	...	Lenny
Donna Mitchell	...	Joan
Mary Louise Weller	...	Doreen
Thaao Penghlis	...	Marco
Scott McKay	...	Mr. Gilling
Meg Mundy	...	Bea Ramsey
Carole Monferdini	...	Hilda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ruth Antonofsky	...	Singer
Dick Carballo	...	Frankie
Allan Eisenman	...	Cab driver
Christine Estabrook	...	Student editor
David Faulkner	...	Professor Edwards
Annie Gagen	...	Student editor (as ruth van poons)
Michael Gordon	...	Cab driver
Nicholas Guest	...	Young man
Margaret Hall	...	Jane McLode
Dan Hannafin	...	Doorman
Roxanne Hart
Karen Howard	...	Toni LaBouchere
Elizabeth Hubbard	...	Vikki St. John
Carolyn Hurlburt	...	Jody
Beth McDonald	...	Student editor
Debbie McLeod	...	Betsy
Bonnie Sue Parker	...	Nurse
Gil Rogers	...	Dr. Richards
Shelley Rogers	...	Student editor
Boomer Tibbs	...	Waiter
Peggy E. Turnley	...	Nurse
Ruth Van Poons	...	Student editor

Runtime:

107 min | Australia:113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Company:

AVCO Embassy Pictures

Goofs:

Errors in geography: New York taxis, (unlike L.A. cabs) do not now nor did they ever have their telephone numbers on them.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Bell Jar (2011)

Soundtrack:

Here Comes The Night

no, it's not the book, but...a flawed, intriguing interpretation nonetheless

I saw this movie when it first came out, before I had read the book. It's impossible to capture the immensity of Esther's pain as she staggers toward oblivion, but watching the movie gave me a definite sense of a life in utter chaos. Yes, the film is flawed, but in my mind it stands alone as a separate entity. Marilyn Hassett's portrayal of Esther is terrifying--I haven't empathized so completely with a character on the brink of dementia since Kathleen Quinlan as Deborah in "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden." The supporting cast is equally solid--it's not their fault that there's just too much ground for one little movie to cover. Donna Mitchell stays in my mind as creating, in Joan's character, a young woman as doomed and in as much mental disarray as Esther. Mitchell is an amazingly underrated (and under-used) actress. I'm not sure if our boys would have given it two thumbs up, but it remains one of my closet classics.