Brain on Fire (film)

Brain on Fire
Directed by	Gerard Barrett
Produced by	A.J. Dix Beth Kono Rob Merilees Lindsay Macadam Charlize Theron
Written by	Gerard Barrett
Based on	Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Starring	Chloë Grace Moretz Jenny Slate Thomas Mann Tyler Perry Carrie-Anne Moss Richard Armitage
Music by	John Paesano
Cinematography	Yaron Orbach
Edited by	JC Bond
Production company	Denver and Delilah Productions Foundation Features Broad Green Pictures
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	September 14, 2016 (2016-09-14) (TIFF)
Running time	95 minutes[1]
Country	Canada Ireland United States
Language	English

Brain on Fire is a 2016 American-Canadian-Irish biographical drama film directed and written by Gerard Barrett, based on Susannah Cahalan's memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Jenny Slate, Thomas Mann, Tyler Perry, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Richard Armitage. Principal photography began on July 13, 2015, in Vancouver, British Columbia. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2016.

Plot

Susannah Cahalan (Moretz) is a New York Post writer, who works with her boss Richard (Perry) and desk neighbor/co-worker Margo (Slate). She meets a sound producer named Stephen (Mann) and they become friends. From this point, Susannah begins to experience strange things (such as in a state of trance, people — who are not actually present — talking about her and being sensitive to annoying noise) and her behavior becomes unusually erratic. After several days of mishaps made by her in the office due to her shifty behavior, Susannah suffers a seizure while in bed with Stephen on her side.

After consulting with a clinic, her father Tom (Armitage) confronts Stephen about not calling her parents regarding the incident. Tom suggests that she stay with her parents, which Susannah refuses to do, but in the end she leaves to stay with her mother and stepfather. At her mother's house Susannah has another seizure. She is taken to a clinic where Susannah undergoes an MRI. The doctor advises her mother, Rhona (Moss), that Susannah has been partying too much, working too hard and not getting enough sleep. While at her doctor's appointment, Susannah thinks that she has bipolar disorder, after reading online that "creative people are bipolar." The doctor prescribes an anti-psychotic pills but she refuses to take these after reading about their side effects, believing these are causing her symptoms. Rhona gets her to take the pills anyway, but during dinner, Susannah unleashes her aggressive behavior. Rhona begs Susannah's father to look after her instead but after Susannah has a breakdown her parents demand that she is hospitalized despite MRI, EEG and physical tests all show normal results.

One of the doctors says to her parents that she is possibly suffering from schizophrenia. The doctor tells them that if Susannah's behavior doesn't improve, she will be transferred to another hospital, where they can deal with psychological problems. Susannah rapidly becomes catatonic, and Dr. Souhel Najjar is asked to help in investigating her case. Najjar states that Susannah's drawing of a clock means that she can't be bipolar or schizophrenic. Najjar has her undergo a brain biopsy in order to take cells from her brain for diagnosis. It is found that she has an anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and Najjar describes it as her "brain is on fire." Dr. Najjar can with the new results give Susannah proper treatment.

Seven months later, Susannah is back at work and presents her first written piece to Richard since her recovery. A grateful Richard tells her to start writing a book about her experience. Sitting at her desk, she begins to compose the story, entitled Brain on Fire.

Cast

• Chloë Grace Moretz as Susannah Cahalan,^[2] a young woman who one day wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the events of the previous months.
• Jenny Slate as Margo,^[3] a friend and co-worker.
• Thomas Mann as Stephen,^[3] Cahalan’s boyfriend
• Tyler Perry as Richard,^[4] Cahalan’s boss at the New York Post
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Rhona Nack,^[5] Calahan’s mother
• Richard Armitage as Tom Cahalan,^[5] Cahalan’s father
• Alex Zahara as Allen
• Jenn MacLean-Angus as Giselle

Production

On May 1, 2014, Deadline reported that Charlize Theron had acquired the film rights to Susannah Cahalan's 2012 memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness.^[6] Chloe Grace Moretz was set to play Cahalan, a young woman who one day wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the events of the previous month.^[6][7] Theron would produce along with Beth Kono and A.J. Dix through her banner Denver and Delilah Productions.^[6] On January 22, 2015, Gerard Barrett was set to write and direct the adaptation, while Rob Merilees of Foundation Features would produce and finance the film.^[8] London-based Mister Smith Entertainment sold the film to international distributors at 2015 Berlin Film Festival.^[9] Will Poulter was added to the cast on February 4, 2015, to play the boyfriend of Cahalan.^[10] On May 26, 2015, Thomas Mann and Jenny Slate were reportedly in talks to join the film, where Mann would play Cahalan's boyfriend, replacing Poulter.^[3] On June 26, 2015, it was announced that Dakota Fanning had left the project due to scheduling issues, and Chloë Grace Moretz replaced her for the lead role.^[2] On July 7, 2015, it was announced that Broad Green Pictures had come on board to produce and finance the film as well as distribute the film in the United States, while Lindsay Macadam would also produce along with producing partner Merilees.^[11] On July 16, 2015, Carrie-Anne Moss and Richard Armitage were cast as Cahalan's parents, Rhona Nack and Tom Cahalan, respectively.^[5] On July 20, 2015, Tyler Perry joined the film to play Richard, Cahalan's boss at the New York Post.^[4]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on July 13, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia.^[12][11][5] Moretz was spotted filming at the Vancouver General Hospital.^[13] On July 18, Moretz was filming a scene of a near-miss by a taxicab and the Vancouver street was transformed into Manhattan.^[14] Production on the film concluded on August 10, 2015.^[15]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2016.^[16][1] Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.^[17]

References

External links

• Official website
• Brain on Fire on IMDb
• Brain on Fire at Rotten Tomatoes