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Brain on Fire

Play trailer 1:55 Poster for Brain on Fire PG-13 2016 1h 35m Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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13% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Susannah Cahalan, an up-and-coming journalist at the New York Post becomes plagued by voices in her head and seizures. As weeks progress and Susannah quickly moves deeper into insanity, her behaviors shift from violence to catatonia. After a series of tantrums, misdiagnoses, and a lengthy hospital stay, a doctor's last-minute intervention enables him to give her a diagnosis and a chance to rebuild her life.

Critics Reviews

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David Rooney The Hollywood Reporter We watch Chloe Grace Moretz's epic meltdown from a bored distance, until the drama remembers its lost calling as a disease-of-the-week movie. At that point, we receive the abrupt news of a cure with an indifferent shrug. Sep 19, 2016 Full Review Wendy Ide Screen International Despite the fact that Susannah eventually manages to claw her way back from the brink of madness, this is a downbeat slog of a film which tells a not particularly involving story. Sep 19, 2016 Full Review Peter Debruge Variety It's the sort of role for which the Razzies were invented, and what little audience it finds will almost certainly be heckling as they watch Moretz implode. Sep 18, 2016 Full Review Alec Bojalad Den of Geek Brain on Fire is like a virus itself, trying to infect an otherwise interest story with its own mediocre movie clichés. Rated: 2.5/5 Mar 1, 2019 Full Review Renee Schonfeld Common Sense Media Brain condition ravages young reporter's life; swearing. Rated: 2/5 Jun 27, 2018 Full Review Kahron Spearman The Daily Dot Despite its best efforts... Brain on Fire is a 90-minute shrug. Jun 27, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Great S This movie makes a very difficult autoimmune disease approachable to a general audience. My son has the same condition, and we've directed family and friends to this movie for a general overview of his condition. As with most movies taken from books, there's a limit to how a movie can accurately depict what an author has written. But this adaptation does a good job. My main complaint is that they don't share the recovery that Susannah endured and how costly her treatment was. She tells you in the book, but they left out this information in the movie. It took her 18 months of weekly IVIG, weekly PEX, intensive therapies (speech, OT, PT), etc. totaling approximately $1 million for her to achieve remission. Insurance denies most individuals from having some of these therapies because many individuals can be sero-negative for Autoimmune Encephalitis and still have it. Or an insurance company can deny coverage due to policy issues. The newspaper she was working for actually went to bat for her with the Insurance company. This is something most employers won't do. I think she mentions in the book that writing an expose on her experience is what paid back the newspaper. So there are a lot of details left out. The movie gives the illusion that diagnosis is quick, and recovery is instantaneous. That's not the case at all. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/18/25 Full Review Takamo W Chloë acting is another level. This review is only support her role on this film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/25 Full Review Audience Member I watched this as a result of a recommendation from a friend who knows someone who has personally experienced this condition. Very well done. Definitely worth watching. Impressive acting. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/27/25 Full Review Alice S As someone who went through very similar medical issues, this movie did a great job showing what she went through. I felt like I was reliving the worst part of my life watching the movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/12/25 Full Review Hailee B This was a movie. I love Chloe Grace she just does so well at acting and her performance in hospital scenes is just so Legendary. Great movie great story telling i believe there was a book for this movie. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/12/24 Full Review Vishnu M OMG! the perfomance of Chloe was mind blowing, she is the real star of the movie, the story was awsome I really enjoyed. Bit slow in places but overall interesting and brings light to something important. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/10/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Brain on Fire

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Movie Info

Synopsis Susannah Cahalan, an up-and-coming journalist at the New York Post becomes plagued by voices in her head and seizures. As weeks progress and Susannah quickly moves deeper into insanity, her behaviors shift from violence to catatonia. After a series of tantrums, misdiagnoses, and a lengthy hospital stay, a doctor's last-minute intervention enables him to give her a diagnosis and a chance to rebuild her life.
Director
Gerard Barrett
Producer
Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, Lindsay MacAdam, Rob Merilees, A.J. Dix
Screenwriter
Gerard Barrett
Production Co
Foundation Features, Broad Green Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Partial Nudity|Brief Language)
Genre
Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 22, 2018
Runtime
1h 35m