The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath committed suicide at 30, and THE BELL JAR is her story. Though it follows the book closely, the script never examines the reasons Plath had her mental problems and the nervous breakdown that preceded her death. The drama is lost, and the story meanders under Peerce's direction. Peerce, son of opera singer Jan Peerce, was either courting or married to Hassett when this picture was made, and the nepotism is evident. Other than GOODBYE, COLUMBUS, Peerce's work has been very serious, to the point of tedium (A SEPARATE PEACE (1972); ASH WEDNESDAY (1973), among others). A good cast otherwise--performances by Jackson, Barrie, and Weller (so good in NATIONAL L...