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GIRL, INTERRUPTED Send This Review to a Friend
We've come a long way from the movie days of "The Snake Pit," when the evils of mental institutions needed exposure. In "Girl Interrupted" the challenge is what to do with Susanna, a young, border-line problem woman who has made a stab at suicide, but is really in a depression about the status of her life and what adjustments she should make. She is sent to an institution where she can get proper attention, and what we observe is a building full of people who are a lot worse off than she is.
The situation is depressing, and the film follows the traumatic, rebellious path of Susanna in her new surroundings, which have been virtually forced upon her. Winona Ryder alternately sulks and fights her way to what can pass for recovery in the role, which she plays effectively in a bold departure for her acting choices. Yet the film is stolen from her by Angelina Jolie as Lisa, a menace as a result of her instability. She's dynamic but dangerous to herself and to others. This is yet another good role for Jolie, who has emerged as a major, spectacularly talented actress. Whoopi Goldberg is fine in a rather thankless role as a staffer who tries to keep the patients under control, and Vanessa Redgrave is up to her impressive standards playing the chief psychiatrist.
"Girl, Interrupted," set in the 1960s, is based on the book by Susanna Kaysen drawn from her experiences. Three screenwriters, James Mangold, who directed, Lisa Loomer and Anna Hamilton are credited with the writing. The film is competent on all counts, but the subject matter is unrelenting in its grimness, and while one admires the acting and the integrity, it is not a very pleasant film to experience, nor does it offer enlightenment worth the effort. A Columbia Pictures release.
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