Watch Prozac Nation

Prozac Nation (2001) is a visceral and engaging American drama film, an adaptation of the 1994 autobiography by Elizabeth Wurtzel. The film stars Christina Ricca as Wurtzel, nicknamed "Lizzie," through a bitter sojourn into adulthood. She is clinically depressed but gifted as a writer, earning a scholarship to Harvard where she majors in journalism. Once away from her over-protective mother (Jessica Lange) and suburban life, she is introduced to a college culture of promiscuity, alcohol and drugs. Histrionic, haunted by depression and the memories of her absent father and the bitter divorce of her parents, this transition serves as a catalyst for several failed love affairs, friendships and her ultimate near undoing. Desperate, she finally seeks help and is prescribed antidepressants. Through this process she must confront her moral doubts about what some might call "artificial happiness" and her observation that more and more young people are turning to prescription drugs to cope with the pressures of adult life. This harrowing, vulnerable memoir is an adept exploration of what it means to grow up depressed in America.