Committed

A low-budget independent alternative to the Jessica Lange Frances made a couple of years earlier, this sees McLaughlin as Hollywood actress Frances Farmer, reliving her memories while incarcerated in the mental institution to which she has been committed, and employs her as a litmus with which to measure American attitudes to political commitment, mental health, and strong women. It's become fashionable to regard Farmer as something of a martyr, and although she was certainly a talented actress treated abysmally by Hollywood, family and friends, it is hard now to ascertain the truth behind her downfall. That apart, this is an original and stylish movie, austere and bitter.