Brain on Fire
A driven journalist’s sudden neurological collapse turns the search for a diagnosis into a fight to reclaim her identity and future.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- harrowing
- urgent
- serious
- focused viewing
- true story night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the illness story compelling in principle but judged the adaptation emotionally blunt and dramatically underdeveloped.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Susannah undergoes many attempts at diagnosis while her neurological symptoms escalate and the underlying cause remains unidentified.
The film adapts journalist Susannah Cahalan's book about her experience with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.
Susannah is introduced as a writer and newspaper reporter whose ability to function and understand her own experience is undermined by the disease.
The plot progresses through Susannah's increasingly alarming behavior, hospitalizations, and doctors' efforts to explain it.
Films like Brain on Fire, and why
Still Alice
shared biographical drama structure, illness-centered conflict, and intimate emotional stakes
Lorenzo's Oil
shared medical mystery, determined family advocacy, and a search for an elusive neurological diagnosis
The Theory of Everything
shared true-story drama, serious illness, and a central character confronting profound physical change
Movie Details
- Director
- Gerard Barrett
- Release Date
- 2017-02-22
- Runtime
- 88 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1445)
Cast
- Chloë Grace Moretz
- Thomas Mann
- Richard Armitage
- Carrie-Anne Moss
- Jenny Slate
- Tyler Perry
- Alex Zahara
- Jenn MacLean-Angus
- Ken Tremblett
- Navid Negahban
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Brain on Fire about?
- A driven journalist’s sudden neurological collapse turns the search for a diagnosis into a fight to reclaim her identity and future.
- What is Brain on Fire like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Brain on Fire as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Brain on Fire violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Brain on Fire.
- What did critics think of Brain on Fire?
- Critics broadly found the illness story compelling in principle but judged the adaptation emotionally blunt and dramatically underdeveloped.
- Which films are like Brain on Fire?
- Films with a similar feel include Still Alice, Lorenzo's Oil, and The Theory of Everything.
- How long is Brain on Fire?
- Brain on Fire runs 88 minutes.
- Where can I watch Brain on Fire?
- In United States, Brain on Fire streams on Shout! Factory Amazon Channel.
