Better than the Book

Rating: 8/10 (18 November 2018)

Honestly, the fictionalized/ dramatized version of Susanna Kaysen's life was more entertaining and relatable than the real one. Someone warned me that would be the case, but I didn't believe her until I read Kaysen's book for myself.
As happy as I am that Kaysen succeeded and published her novel in real life, I think the movie script's characters had more depth and background than hers did. Maybe she had wanted to respect the privacy of real people's traumas & issues, even though she had changed the names, and Hollywood went wild with it in inventing their own? In any case, the cast is excellent, and the actors add their own depths and subtle mannerisms to the characters.
As an avid bibliophile who prefers most novels over their cinematic interpretations, I rarely EVER say that the film was better than the book it was loosely based upon. Unfortunately, that is the case here. (It still stings a little.)