Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: James Mangold, Lisa Loomer, Anna Hamilton Phelan (book by Susanna Kaysen)
Starring: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elizabeth Moss, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Vanessa Redgrave, Whoopi Goldberg, Mary Kay Place
Produced by: Cathy Konrad, Douglas Wick

The Nutshell

A young woman tries to kill herself and is placed in an institution in the '60s.

The Review

    Girl, Interrupted is a film about a young woman who, in the '60s, was under a lot of pressure and wound up taking a bottle of aspirin out of desperation. She was placed in Claymoore, a mental institution full of pyromaniacs, pathological liars and otherwise unstable people, was eventually released, and went on to write a book about her time there. Her name is Susanna Kaysen. Now, I have not read her book, but have no doubt that it is poignant and emotional, and probably worth reading. The problem is the film; it treads lightly around the fact that Susanna tried to kill herself to portray her as nothing more than a slightly confused young woman who should never have been locked up. This sugar-coats Susanna's story and takes away its impact.

    Susanna is a troubled girl. This is evident from the start. Thanks to some handy flashbacks, we quickly discover that Susanna had had a one-time fling with one of the married Deans of her school. She has an oppressive home in which she doesn't belong. She wants to be a writer, yet constantly gets berated for her ambitions. This all leads to the suicide attempt and a visit to the hospital. Upon recovering, Susanna is quickly shipped out to Claymoore, whichwe know is a bad place, because Susanna says "Oh God, not Claymoore". Once there, she is greeted by nurse Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg), who from the first second gives off an aura that says this is one of those small, caring, earnest characters that will guide Susanna on her way to redemption. The rest of the populace line up and reveal their flaws one by one: anorexic, manic depressive, etc. The film is quite dull until the arrival of one character; Lisa, a resident of Claymoore for eight years who has just been caught after escaping, played by Angelina Jolie.

    Jolie tackles the key role of Lisa with gusto, ripping her way into and out of every scene she is in, providing the film with a much-needed reprieve from Winona's incessant voice-overs. Lisa is a psychotic, which means that she is dangerous. In case audience members don't "get" this fact, writer/director James Mangold throws in a former patient who apparently hung herself due to Lisa's taunting. It is Lisa who wakes Susanna out of her stupor, though the things Lisa gets them into are not necessarily therapeutic. The residents of Claymoore sneak around the facility at night through some mysterious tunnels, like something out of Toy Soldiers. They raid their medical files and gripe about their doctors. They become a kind of family, caring for each other and helping each other out whenever there is need. Susanna eventually goes through a metamorphosis, coming to terms with her suicide attempt and with having a "borderline personality disorder". She triumphs over Claymoore, but not before it is made obvious that, don't worry, she still loves her sisters and will remember them forever.

    James Mangold, who previously made Copland with Sylvester Stallone, doesn't take any risks with Girl, Interrupted. The film's tagline, "Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy", says it all; going crazy can be a good thing, it helps you grow into a better person, just don't go crazy like any of those other gals in Claymoore, though, they are bad. This film was hailed as early as a year ago as "the female version of Cuckoo's Nest!" Every young actress of today like Gwyneth Paltrow and Claire Danes wanted in. Those who did get in are a capable group of actresses, including Ryder, Jolie and Clea DuVall, a rising star. Ryder's quiet luminosity is a nice foil to Jolie's flamboyant, fiery hellcat, and both do well with the material given to them. Appearances by Jeffrey Tambor, Whoopi Goldberg, Mary Kay Place and Vanessa Redgrave round out an impressive cast which is overly qualified to tackle the manipulative screenplay.

    Girl, Interrupted will doubtless empower some young women to rise up and take command of their lives, and this is a good thing. There is nothing worse than a young man or woman creatively stifled by their parents. But when someone tries to kill themselves, you cannot write it off as the result of a sexual fling or oppressive parents and let it rest. No real exploration of Susanna's mind is attempted, with only brief sessions with her psychologist providing limited insight. It is as if Susanna's state of mind is not as important as her fun times with her Claymoore friends, and this does the real Susanna Kaysen an injustice.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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