Lou Andreas Sand (Faye Dunaway) is a former model. Broken by the fashion world, she has taken refuge in a house on the shores of the Atlantic, where she devotes her time to painting and sculpture. When she tries to put the pieces of her youth together, her friend Aaron Reinhardt (Barry Primus) pushes her to record her confidences. The result is a patchwork of memories in which reality is subjected to the whims of imagination and mythomania...
The film caused a commotion amongst the best critics when it was released. Michel Ciment wrote in Positif, “Without a doubt never, since The Boy With Green Hair (Joseph Losey), had a first American work shown such astounding mastery.” Puzzle of a Downfall Child has something in common with Joseph Losey’s work - that art of revealing a secret wound with astonishing clarity.
Schatzberg opted for bold directing, matching the challenges of his use of sound with an original story, to such a point that a special link is created with the spectator, who alone can access the mental perceptions of the heroine. Puzzle of a Downfall Child is a film that marked its time. It had not been visible for a very long time. - Lumiere 2011: Grand Lyon Film Festival