Director Pamela Romanowsky makes a valiant effort but ultimately misses the mark in her adaptation of Stephen Elliott’s memoir “The Adderall Diaries.” In the true fashion of A24 Studios and James Franco’s own production studio, Rabbit Bandini, Romanowsky’s solo debut film is a slew of potentially powerful montages, but is punctuated by mostly inconsequential dialogue.
James Franco stars in the movie and plays Stephen Miller, the undependable writer and journalist who is just about to finish his new book when his absent father, Neil (Ed Harris), suddenly reappears after years of not contacting him.
At the same time, Miller tries to expand his writing style by covering the murder trial of Hans Reiser. Reiser is a wealthy programmer who has been accused of murdering his wife, but claims the death was justified for the safety of his children. Here, Miller meets another journalist, Lana Edmond (Amber Heard), who he drags into his web of problems.
It is truly hard to pinpoint the direction and focus of the plot in this film. Romanowsky tends to skip around and she leaves many holes open within the plot. Most of the plot is ultimately revealed through montages of imagery than through actual dialogue or consequential plot points. Although these images are beautiful and have the potential to be extremely powerful, the lack of content and the abstract plot make these montages inconsequential.
Additionally, most of the characters in the movie come off as different versions of the same exact person. Although there is variation in each of their individual storylines, each character's life is spiraling out of control, which becomes repetitive and unexciting.
Being Romanowsky’s first film, the style and content overall seems a bit contrived. She tries to cover serious topics such as abuse, drug addiction and homelessness, but without a concrete plot or any resolution, the effort falls flat.
Overall, “The Adderall Diaries” is an extremely raw and unrelenting take on Stephen Elliott’s memoir. Even though the film does not do the memoir justice, it is a valiant effort for a director’s first solo debut.
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