Troubled American poet Sylvia Plath’s only novel The Bell Jar is currently in the long process of being made into a big screen movie, starring Julia Stiles (Dexter) as the depressed Esther Greenwood, along with Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen (Red Riding Hood).
IMDB gives us these details behind the movie’s production: “Feeling hemmed in by the social conventions of her time, book editor Esther Greenwood is slowly taken over by mental illness.”
Before we go any further, I’d like to draw a parallel to Stiles’ 10 Things I Hate About You character, the angst-ridden Kat, who in a very brief shot during the movie, was reading this novel (as seen in the picture).
The development of this adaptation, written by Tristine Skyler (playwright of The Moonlight Mile) and directed by Nicole Kassell (A Little Bit of Heaven), has been a long process for Stiles who has been rumored to be attached to it since 2007, according to Variety. At this time, Total Film recalled that bringing this movie to the big screen has been a passion project for Stiles for a long time. Nearly four years later, we’re left wondering, what’s the hold up?
As recent as last July, Film School Rejects followed this project which “is a tragic descent into depression that stands as a parallel to the author’s own life. It would be an excruciating subject matter to explore. In fact, Plath committed suicide just after the first print run.”
Madsen is not listed in a specified role on IMDB, but FSR says that she will play Dr. Nolan, “the female therapist Greenwood sees after unsuccessful sessions with a male psychiatrist.”
Stiles has been most recently seen in Showtime’s Dexter, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination. The actress took a break from her movie career also to star on Broadway opposite Bill Pullman in Oleanna. She is currently in pre-production for the drama Seconds of Pleasure with Christina Hendricks and Brendan Fraser, Between Us with Melissa George and Taye Diggs, as well as The Bell Jar, which lists no other acting credits at this time.
If you hadn’t heard about this movie-in-development before, we apologize for not having more details at present, but at least we can help generate some buzz for this much-anticipated adaptation. There are no details of when or where production will begin, let alone a release date. Perhaps there’s a battle over rights of the story?
Anyway, if you’re a big Sylvia Plath fan, there’s also Sylvia to watch, starring Gwyneth Paltrow as the saddened talent, alongside a brooding Daniel Craig as Plath’s English husband Ted Hughes. Share with us your thoughts about this move. Do we really need another classic literary adaptation Hollywood style or can Stiles shows us some chops worthy enough of Plath’s disturbing novel?
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