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Was her life really as miserable and crazy as this movie?

posted 12 years ago by LaPfieffer92
13 replies | jump to latest

They made her look like a total obnoxious opinionated nutcase, and is it true that love interest, the guy with the mustache, never even existed? the last line in the movie, that she died like she had lived...alone. is that true? seemed likes a pretty unhappy woman. was her life really that screwed up? Also, the beginning of the movie pretty much prepared you for why her life was so messed up if its even true. if she was brought up differently, in a loving careing family who wasn't as godless and pompous like her mother was, I think she would have turned out differently. I also believe that there are some people who should NOT be celebrities. That lifestyle will drive them crazy, like frances was. she seemed like the person who if she had stayed away from the entertainment industry, started going to church and had a family, she would have been a much more stable person. someone like that didn't need the whole Hollywood turbulence in her life.

whats ironic especially is how lange is very much her character she played in the movie. on wiki it says both sides of her family were atheistic, much like frances farmers. of course that explains langes own personal torment, saying how she suffers from bouts of depression and somehow channels it into her acting. this sounds extremely similar to frances farmer, almost too much so. its sad in both cases, these 2 women seem to be lost in Hollywood, though lange may not be a psycho, she does seem lost in her own way. sad.

Realism, Remakes and Unnecessary Sequels are ruining movies!

[–] hodie 12 years ago

Her memoir, "Will There Really Be a Morning?" presents an even grimmer picture than the movie. The postscript in the film, saying she died alone, is straight from the book. But I seem to recall reading somewhere that she wasnt alone. Toward the end of her life she found some peace with a small family somewhere, but I can't remember now whether or not they were estranged when Frances died. She was a very troubled soul all her life, it seems.

[–] jmk56 11 years ago

"Frances" is based on a "fictionalized" biography which contained a *lot* of made up material. The film is not accurate in many major ways. You can read about the real Frances and how the book and film altered her actual story here:

http://jeffreykauffman.net/francesfarmer/sheddinglight.html

Nowhere does "Will There Really Be A Morning?" state that she died alone, and in fact even if it did, it's best to remember the book was ghost written by Frances' friend and business partner Jeanira Ratcliffe.

[–] blassoulis 11 years ago

please,don't bring church into this.

[–] kevin-bergin 10 years ago

please,don't bring church into this.

blassoulis-Many, many people have found comfort and direction by going to church.

"It's the system, Lara. People will be different after the Revolution."

[–] gray-leblanc 11 years ago

How exactly does Lange seem lost again, and were you referring to her being "lost" during the time of the film or present day?

[–] evankasen 10 years ago

After reading "Will There Really Be A Morning", I realized her life was even WORSE than the movie portrays.

[–] hillfox20 10 years ago

Will There Really Be A Morning? is considered by many to be a total piece of fiction and not even by Frances Farmer.

[–] evankasen 10 years ago

Aww man :(

[–] Akittystang 8 years ago

The rapes and some of the more sensational aspects were made up, but make no mistake, she was in an asylum for around a decade (if I remember right), back in the 50s. I cannot even imagine.

[–] spacefink (92) 7 years ago

Frances Farmer became Catholic in her later life. And either way, like someone already pointed out, the movie is highly fictionalized and doesn't cover what happened to Frances after she left the hospital. For starters, her father was a lawyer and threatened legal action if anyone either gave her lobotomy or tried to hurt her, so she did not endure the same treatment as everyone else. After she got out, she had her own TV show in Indiana called "Frances Farmer Presents" and became a champion bowler. She kept up a very cool and active life. She didn't ever get back into Hollywood but she never stayed fully away either, doing TV specials and acting in teleplays. She made appearances on This is Your Life and the Today Show, the latter which didn't go so well for her and lead to another breakdown before she had another run in with the law and got busted for drunk driving. Unfortunately, she never escaped the stigma of her mental illness, but she was far from pathetic and miserable. She died with a close friend, Jean Ratcliffe, by her side.

[–] Cookie.L.A. (2117) 7 years ago

Thank you. That's a pretty complete update : )

I will only add that some have speculated that her friend and business partner (the unfortunately named Ms. Ratcliffe) was also her lover...so perhaps that brought some additional comfort in her later years.
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[–] spacefink (92) 7 years ago

Thank you so much! I've heard this too about Frances and Jean. But supposedly in the book "Will There Really Be a Morning?" she says that her relationship with Frances was platonic.

[–] Cookie.L.A. (2117) 7 years ago

The relationship is still open to speculation...the romantic aspect is only a possibility. But it's unlikely Ratcliffe would have acknowledged its nature when the book was published.

THIS is an interesting memory of meeting Ratcliffe, by a person who has a big Frances Farmer collection"

http://www.oocities.org/themistyone/earles.htm
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