Throughout history, there have always been young women skeptical and displeased with modernity. In the 1950s, this spirit was captured in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. By the late 2010s, Billie Eilish had become perhaps the premier chronicler of teenage listlessness and depression. It makes a certain sense, then, that Eilish is eying a role in a potential The Bell Jar adaptation as her film debut.
This news comes from Deadline, which reports that Sarah Polley will direct the picture and write its screenplay. The trade doesn’t specify, however, what role Eilish would potentially play in this adaptation. We’d assume that Eilish is in the running for protagonist Esther, but the side character of Joan—Esther’s friend who also deals with bouts of depression—could be a good fit, too. Esther would certainly be a major role for a performer whose acting credits consist of one (admittedly excellent and very creepy) guest appearance in Prime Video’s Swarm and some Saturday Night Live sketches. Eilish is also the youngest person to have two Oscars, though they’re both in the Original Song category.
This adaptation of The Bell Jar has been in the works for some time. Around 2007, Julia Styles began trying to raise funds for an adaptation starring herself. In 2016, it was reported that Kirsten Dunst would direct Dakota Fanning in an adaptation of Plath’s novel. That didn’t come to pass, and by 2019, Dunst was officially out with the adaptation now eyeing a home at Showtime as a limited series. So, basically, this adaptation has been in the process of coming to the screen for almost all of Eilish’s life.
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