Synopsis
Writer and Adderall enthusiast Stephen Elliott reaches a low point when his estranged father resurfaces, claiming that Stephen has fabricated much of the dark childhood that that fuels his writing. Adrift in the precarious gray area of memory, Stephen is led by three sources of inspiration: a new romance, the best friend who shares his history, and a murder trial that reminds him more than a little of his own story. Based on the memoir of the same name.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- James FrancoStephen Elliott
- Amber HeardLana Edmond
- Ed HarrisNeil Elliott
- Christian SlaterHans Reiser
- Wilmer ValderramaJosh
- Jim ParrackRoger
- Cynthia NixonJen Davis
- Michael CristoferPaul Hora
- Danny FlahertyTeenage Roger
- Timothée ChalametTeenage Stephen Elliott
Recommandations
- 75
The Playlist
Romanowksy has gamely hacked through Elliott’s purposely messy and tangential material to craft a workable portrait of pain and addiction, one that’s bizarrely entertaining even in its most brutal moments, good enough for at least one hit. - 60
TheWrap
At first, Elliott’s struggle does not seem like promising material for a movie, and some might be unsatisfied by the shifting, inchoate nature of the film’s forward trajectory, but at a certain point the narrative begins to coalesce around the idea of taking responsibility for your own life, and Romanowsky makes this seem like a refreshing or at least tough-minded theme. - 58
IndieWire
If anything, The Adderall Diaries is worth seeing for the ways it challenges the audience to examine and take responsibility for their own personal narratives. - 50
Slant Magazine
It's too busy skipping through subplots to do much more than gloss over such heady issues as the fundamental subjectivity of truth and self-identity. - 50
New York Post
A well worn trope that’s tough to elevate beyond eye-roll level. - 42
The A.V. Club
On a purely technical level, the film is fine, if overly reliant on indie-movie clichés. It features some good performances from proven actors, and touches on some interesting philosophical questions. - 40
The Hollywood Reporter
First-time feature helmer Romanowsky has a hard time distinguishing between the things that draw her to Elliott's story and the things that make him pathetic. - 40
Variety
Franco’s cultivated impenetrability makes for a pain-ridden but peculiarly passionless experience, with multiple clashing subplots — on such insufficiently explored themes as parental abuse, uxoricide and masochism — obstructing an already opaque character study.
