Julia Stiles has been cast to play the main character in The Bell Jar [1], Esther Greenwood, a woman whose depression leads her to undergo electroshock therapy and attempt suicide. However, the production team — of which Stiles is also a part — seem to want to veer away from anything too sad.

According to Variety:

Book has many dark overtones, but Rattray said the project will emphasize some of the more uplifting elements.

"Esther Greenwood has a strong outlook on life, and we're really looking to bring out the humor in the character," she said. "We don't want to do a depressing descent into the world of suicide."

To find out why I'm not completely thrilled about this,

To be honest, this movie news made me cringe when I first read it. The Bell Jar [2] is sensitive territory for obvious reasons. And until recently when Stiles made her own short film starring Zooey Deschanel [2] (which will screen at the Tribeca Film Festival [2], by the way) I could not take her very seriously.

Yet apparently Stiles has "been seeking to bring a new version [of The Bell Jar] to the screen for several years" which makes me think this is not something Stiles is just doing for the heck of it. Besides, the reality of the matter is, I can't imagine anyone in the role of Esther Greenwood, so Stiles may as well be the one.

Source [3]