John Cale of the Velvet Underground wrote the film's score[6] despite protests from former band member Lou Reed.

[10] The film opens immediately after her attempted assassination of Andy Warhol at The Factory in 1968, followed by Valerie Solanas being shown in custody for the attack.

The film then uses flashbacks to when Valerie was living in New York as a sex worker, then to her difficult childhood, then to her success in studying psychology at college.

Initially intended as a BBC documentary, the film was directed by Mary Harron who also co-wrote the screenplay with Daniel Minahan.

[12] In the screenplay, Harron and Minahan describe Solanas as "banging at an ancient typewriter" and the film frequently shows her typing, for which she is mocked by Warhol and other Factory regulars.

[15] On Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 75/100, based on 20 critics, denoting "generally favorable reviews".