Girl, Interrupted

Winona Ryder, then at the height of her career, projects a fragile beauty, somewhat reminiscent of a young Mia Farrow, in this autobiographical story of Susanna Kaysen, a confused girl who in the late 1960s gets admitted to a private Boston psychiatric hospital and finds out that her problems aren't worth diddley compared those of her fellow inmates and that life isn’t as clear-cut as she thought.  

Although it is impossible not to compare the film to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and, with Mangold’s conventional and sometimes sentimental approach, find it wanting, Ryder as executive producer is well served by him for the film is really a showcase for her and Angelina Jolie who won a Best Supporting Oscar for her turn as Lisa, an angry young woman with whom Susanna identifies. Its message is delivered too neatly packaged (Whoopi Goldberg's no-nonsense-matron-with-a-heart-of-gold is the most obvious aspect of this) and, for all the evident tragedy, with a feel-good ending but the performances from Ryder, Jolie along with credible support from Clea DuVall and Brittany Murphy as fellow inmates and the sense of first-hand experience underpinning the drama make it watchable.

The film opens with a voice-over from Ryder saying "have you ever...stolen something when you have the cash", words which proved prophetic as she was arrested in 2001 for shoplifting and her career took a dive as a result. Jolie, on the other hand moved onto action blockbusters and Hollywood celebrity.

 

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