If there were any doubts that Christina Ricci is one of the most interesting, resourceful and hugely watchable young actresses of her generation, then "Prozac Nation" ends them.
Based on the memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel, director Erik Skjoldbjaerg and writers Galt Niederhoffer, Alex Orlovsky and Frank Deasy lay things out with crystal clarity.

PROZAC NATION takes place in the 1980s, before drugs for treating depression were commonly prescribed. A young woman (Lizzie - Christina Ricci) in her first year at Harvard University struggles with depression, feeling overwhelmed by her relationship with a chain-smoking, neurotically self-obsessed mother (Jessica Lange in a truly scary performance) and other issues. Lizzie (Ricci) might have been prone to depression anyway, but with her early family life she never stands a chance.

Lizzie's writing carries her far -- all the way to a Harvard scholarship and published pieces in Rolling Stone. But at the university, her life falls apart. Understandably terrified of rejection, she nonetheless alienates everyone close to her: an admiring roommate (Michelle Williams), who really "gets" her; her first lover (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who turns her on to recreational drugs; and a caring fellow student (Jason Biggs), whom she anoints her "savior."

Her therapist (Anne Heche) realizes that only by remaining aloof can she reach a soul in such turmoil. Eventually, she prescribes Prozac -- the cure-all drug of the 1980s -- to help Lizzie get "a perspective" and rebuild her identity.

Production wrapped up in the summer of 2000, and Miramax acquired the movie after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2001

R, for language, drug content, sexuality/nudity and some disturbing images

Director .......................  Erik Skjoldbjaerg
Starring .......................  Christina Ricci,
                                       Jason Biggs,
                                       Anne Heche,
                                       Michelle Williams,
                                       Jessica Lange,
                                       Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
Director of Photography... Erling Thurmann-Andersen
Editor ...........................  James Lyons
Producer......................... Galt Niederhoffer &
........................................Brad Weston &
........................................R. Paul Miller
Screenwriter .................. Galt Niederhoffer &
........................................Alex Orlovsky &
........................................Frank Deasy
Based on Elizabeth Wurtzel's novel