Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic
| Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Richard and Esther Shapiro |
| Directed by | Richard Donner |
| Starring |
Linda Blair Larry Hagman Verna Bloom William Daniels Mark Hamill |
| Theme music composer | James Di Pasquale |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Stuart Cohen (associate producer) David Levinson (producer) |
| Cinematography | Gayne Rescher |
| Editor(s) | Richard Bracken |
| Running time | 96. min |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television |
| Distributor | NBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | February 11, 1975 |
Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film about a teenager who becomes an alcoholic. A huge ratings success at the time, the film has yet to be made available (as of 2013) to the home-viewing market, either on videotape or DVD.
Sarah Travis (Linda Blair) is a 15-year-old girl dealing with feelings of isolation and inadequacy. Her parents are divorced and she has minimal contact with her alcoholic father. Sarah lives with her mother, JoAnne, and stepfather, Matt. They do not notice how lonely Sarah is. She feels overshadowed by her sister, Nancy, and wishes to live with her father.
Sarah commences drinking alcohol at a party hosted by her mother and stepfather. She feels uncomfortable with standard questions the guests ask her about how she is doing at school and what her favorite subjects are. Sarah is overcome with anxiety when she is forced to engage in conversations with important people at the party. She feels out of place in several situations. For example, her desire to fit in at school manifests itself with her attempting to become a member of the Glee Club. Unfortunately, Sarah is not accepted.
Over the course of the film, Sarah makes numerous attempts to have contact with her salesman father, Richard (Larry Hagman), who often ignores his daughter's sincere attempts to have a meaningful father-daughter relationship with him. When Richard makes the effort to see her, he presents himself as someone who is interested in Sarah's life and wants to please his daughter. They often have fun together. When they meet, Sarah is disappointed to discover that her father is unemployed. He responds by asking Sarah to get him a beer. Her mood, however, improves when her father tells her that he threw his sample case from a bridge; this is a source of amusement for her. Richard shows that he is capable of showing affection for his daughter. Sarah is even more pleased when Richard gives her money in order to purchase an outfit.
At first, when Sarah drinks, the alcohol seems to suppress her feelings of anxiety, insignificance and inadequacy. She associates happiness with drinking. For example, Sarah is embarrassed and humiliated when her mother arranges for her to attend a party at the Peterson's with a date, Ken. When Sarah emphatically states that she does not want to go, her mother's primary concern is of the social repercussions if Sarah does not attend the party. Thus, at the party, Sarah plies herself with alcohol in order to satiate her feelings of inferiority. She surprises herself and others when she sings, which everyone at the party appreciates. When Sarah becomes inebriated at the party, her parents attribute blame to Ken, even though it was Sarah who made the conscious decision to drink copious amounts of alcoholic beverages. JoAnne is more concerned with the impression that the guests formed at the party of Sarah as opposed to caring about the welfare of her daughter.
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