21-year-old Susannah Cahalan is a writer for The New York Post who lives with her new boyfriend Stephen. Susannah becomes suddenly ill, initially showing symptoms of a common flu like a cough and fatigue, but later begins presenting strange behaviour while in a trance state, such as hearing people say things they haven't said and hypersensitivity to loud noises. Over time, her behaviour becomes more and more erratic. Finally, Susannah suffers a seizure and seeks medical treatment. The doctor consulted is adamant it is down to Susannah partying too much, working too hard and not getting enough sleep. She moves in with her mother Rhona and, after an emotional outburst, suffers another seizure, and is taken to a clinic where she undergoes an MRI. Susannah also believes she may have bipolar disorder due to her severe mood changes. Rhona struggles to care for Susannah, and she later moves in with her father Tom and his new fiancé. During dinner one night, she becomes violent towards them while suffering another outburst, and her parents demand she is hospitalized despite the MRI, EEG, and all other tests showing normal results. In the hospital, one the doctors informs Susannah's parents she could have schizophrenia, and says that if her behaviour does not improve, she will be transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Susannah gradually becomes catatonic, and Dr. Souhel Najjar is asked to help in investigating her case. He has Susannah draw a clock; she draws it with all of the numbers on the right side of the face, leading Najjar to believe that the right hemisphere of her brain is swollen and inflamed. Najjar has her undergo a brain biopsy in order to take cells from her brain for diagnosis. Following the biopsy, it is found that Susannah has a rare disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a brain inflammation, which Najjar describes as "brain on fire". Najjar begins treatment, which leads to a slow but full recovery of her cognitive abilities. Seven months later, Susannah is back at work. She presents her first written piece since her recovery to her boss Richard. It is well received, and he asks her to start writing a book about her experience, which she later titles 'Brain on Fire'. Before the credits, text on screen confirms Susannah Catalan was the 217th person to be diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, but her memoir has helped people all over the world, leading to thousands being diagnosed and treated since. She and Najjar remain close friends.
Cast
Chloë Grace Moretz as Susannah Cahalan, a 21-year-old woman who one day wakes up in restraints in a hospital a month after suffering from a mysterious illness that doctors are unable to diagnose
Jenny Slate as Margo, a friend and co-worker
Thomas Mann as Stephen, Cahalan's boyfriend
Tyler Perry as Richard, Cahalan's boss at the New York Post
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. Dakota Fanning 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. Theron would produce along with Beth Kono and A.J. Dix through her banner Denver and Delilah Productions. On January 22, 2015, Irish filmmaker Gerard Barrett was set to write and direct the adaptation, while Rob Merilees of Foundation Features would produce and finance the film. London-based Mister Smith Entertainment sold the film to international distributors at 2015 Berlin Film Festival. Will Poulter was added to the cast on February 4, 2015, to play Cahalan's boyfriend. 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. 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. 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. On July 16, 2015, Carrie-Anne Moss and Richard Armitage were cast as Cahalan's parents, Rhona Nack and Tom Cahalan, respectively. On July 20, 2015, Tyler Perry joined the film to play Richard, Cahalan's boss at the New York Post.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2016. Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on June 22, 2018.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 13%, based on 16 critics, and an average rating of 4.53/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
