Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Excellent, smart action film.

Brilliant and touching

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Based on a true story, Girl, Interrupted gives an account of Susanna Kaysen's 18 month stay at a mental hospital during the 1960's.I'll kick off with a disclaimer that I have not read Susanna Kaysen's book, but I can only presume, and hope, that the book doesn't have nearly as many shortcomings as the film.One major thing I did take exception to with this film is its lack of depth and development in terms of its characters. Angelina Jolie's character Lisa is a sociopath who is little more than a playground bully which truth be told is it a little one-note and becomes a bit tiresome after the novelty wears off. Jolie is quite good here and this film helped to showcase that she had some range, but I just wish that her character had been given more dimension and depth. In fairness, we do gain more of an understanding of her character at the end of the film, but this doesn't make up for the fact that Jolie had nothing to work with in the early stages of the film. The only other supporting character to get any sort of focus was Daisy (Brittany Murphy), but again her character isn't that well-written and her character, like Lisa, didn't really have enough depth to make me care.Even when looking at the main character Susanna the writers probably don't develop her as well as they should have done; it seemed with Susanna, like Lisa, that all of the interesting things about her character are lazily thrown in at the end and prior to this we witness numerous therapy sessions, flashbacks, and Susanna ingratiating herself with the sisterhood at Claymoore and sadly I didn't find any of these things particularly insightful.Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder put in good performances and some of the insights given at the end do give the film some weight, but I couldn't help but feel that the director's own indulgences got in the way far too often. Girl, Interrupted provides us with a lot of potentially interesting characters that sadly are never allowed to become interesting and a potentially interesting story that doesn't always focus its attention in the right areas. Inevitably, this film will probably be compared to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but by comparison, Girl, Interrupted falls short.

If you really wanna see Angelina Jolie (at 24 years old) chewing up the scenery as only Angelina Jolie could possibly chew up the scenery - Then be sure to check out her atrocious, over-the-top performance here as the looney-tune "Lisa".Sporting a horribly ratty, blond, fright wig - Jolie literally bulldozes her self-centered way through every single scene in this picture just like the no-talent actress-from-hell that I'm convinced she really is.Yeah. It's like I've said before about Jolie - Had her father not been veteran, Hollywood actor, Jon Voight, then you can be sure that this bungling babe (with the puffy lips) would have never, ever been fast-tracked into mega-stardom as she inevitably was. No way, Jose.And, speaking about actress, Winona Ryder - At 30 years old - There was no way on Earth that she could ever convince me that she was the 18 year old, Susanna character who she was attempting to portray in the story. Not a chance.All-in-all - This totally irksome, clichéd and heavy-handed Chick Flick from 1999 made my skin absolutely crawl with revulsion like you wouldn't believe. Yep. It really did.

In 1967, 18 year-old neurotic and volatile Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), who attempted to commit suicide by downing a bottle of vodka and a bottle of aspirin, is rushed to a local hospital. Not only is her family life an unhappy one (despite the family's influence), but also she is confused as what to do with her life. She is in denial about her motives, and is also promiscuous. After she has survived emergency medical care, she is sent to Claymoore, a psychiatric institution in Belmont, Massachusetts. As Susanna stays for one and one-half years, her outside life has become interrupted. (Actually the title emanates from Vermeer's 17th century painting.)The hospital staff is headed by an administrator who appears to be a caring and decent man, Dr. Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) and an intelligent but detached psychiatrist Dr. Sonia Wick (Vanessa Redgrave). The supervisor on the ward is hardened nurse Valerie Owens (Whoopi Goldberg). Valerie calls Susanna "a lazy, self- indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy."Placed in a women's ward, Susanna eventually receives her diagnosis: "borderline personality disorder." She is ambivalent and seems to deserve what she gets even though one knows that she does not really belong in Claymoore. When she tells boyfriend Toby (Jared Leto) that she has friends there, he replies, "They are eating grapes off the wallpaper." But Claymoore seems to give her the structure that she needs. Earlier, a nurse had warned her, "Do not drop anchor here." When tragedy ultimately strikes one of the inmates, Susanna seriously begins to self-examine herself and begins to cooperate with the therapists. Mentally she becomes less confused and healthier, and starts writing about her experiences. Although her book became the basis for the movie, the latter unfortunately takes many liberties. The movie, about behavior and character, is told dramatically via a series of episodes. These events include: female patient interactions; the girls breaking into the main office after hours and reading individual files; the Christmastime trip to the ice cream parlor; exercise classes; the attempt to escape; the final melodramatic confrontation in the basement. In reality, some of these events never really happened but were added in by Hollywood for dramatic effect. The other women Susanna meets at the hospital include: • Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie) – a rebel misfit, sociopath, and reckless; manipulative and cruel; doesn't care whom she hurts; becomes Susanna's friend. • Georgina Tuskin (Clea Duwall) – a shy and withdrawn person; suffers from schizophrenia; lives in the Land of Oz; doesn't really want to leave Claymoore; diagnosed as "pseudologica fantastica," a pathological liar; Susanna's roommate. • Polly Clark (Elizabeth Moss) – a schizophrenic but kindly burn victim who is also depressed with her face; will never leave Claymoore; called "Torch" by Lisa. • Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy) – a deeply troubled individual with an anxiety disorder; harbors a dreadful secret. • Janet Webber (Angela Bettis) – an anorexic ballerina; easily irritated; called "Fatso" by Lisa. • Cynthia Crowley (Jillian Armenante) – a mentally-disturbed lesbian; severely depressed. Winona Ryder, who bears more than just a physical resemblance to the author of the book, is expressive and skillful at projecting mental states. She is always good. Angelina Jolie drives the movie and gives it life. Her demeaning of those around her left her a cold heart, dead inside. Jolie's haunting performance won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Despite some film flaws, there are the strong presentations by an impressive cast of highly talented young actresses. Also, the script contains some sharp insights into the complexities of mental illness.

Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) ODs on aspirins and family friend Dr. Crumble convinces her to go to Claymoore Hospital. She's struggling to find herself as a writer and had a fling with her parents' married colleague. She's the only one in her '67 class not to go to college. She insists that she's didn't attempt suicide. Her roommate Georgina Tuskin (Clea DuVall) is a compulsive liar. Sweet Torch Clark (Elisabeth Moss) has burns on her face. Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy) has food and daddy issues. The police returns escapee Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie) who is a whirlwind rebellious personality. Soon, Susanna realizes that this is not simply for a short rest. Her boyfriend Tobias Jacobs (Jared Leto) gets drafted. Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) is the wise nurse in charge. Dr. Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) declares Susanna has borderline personality disorder. Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) takes over her case with some big insights.Nurse Valerie calls Susanna "a lazy, self-indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy." I disagree on the lazy part because she's trying very hard. However, much of the movie feels indulgent to me. Valerie tells Susanna that she's not really sick. The big surprise of the movie is that the mental hospital and its staff are not evil. They are mostly reasonable. Potts comes off a little clueless but Susanna is really just rebelling against her uptight parents and fighting against herself. That's not to say that this is an useless exercise. There are some good performances from the actresses. There is one great section with Ryder watching Jolie throw verbal bombs at Murphy. To me, that's the most impressive section of the movie. The final confrontation is a bit melodramatic. The movie should have wrapped up soon after the Jolie Murphy confrontations.