Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted is a Don’t Miss film. It is also, whole-heartedly, a Winona Ryder film.

Girl, Interrupted follows a troubled girl named Susanna Kaysen (Ryder) who may or may not have a borderline personality disorder. After Susanna tries to kill herself, she is sent to a mental institution by her parents to recover. What we see is that Susanna doesn’t really have a disorder but is more of a slacker who spoils herself. At the institution, Claymore, she meets all sorts of women with real disorders. The most enigmatic is Lisa (Angelina Jolie) who is a sociopath. The two befriend each other and we see their friendship bloom then wither. Girl, Interrupted is about a girl who discovers herself, and does just that in a mental institution. The story is based on the memoirs of Susanna Kaysen and covers about two years of her life starting in 1967.

The performances are excellent. Ryder as Kaysen puts up a wonderful performance. Jolie does well also, but I’m starting to think that although she is a wonderful actress and is always believable, her range in roles is not as wide. She’s always doing a rebellious type and though she does it good, I wish she would expand her roles a bit. It was good to see Whoopi Goldberg in the film as the head of the ward that Susanna and Lisa live in.

Worth mentioning is the score by Mychael Danna which works very well with the movie. The song selection for the movie is also excellent. The music in the film ties in very well.

Don’t Miss Girl, Interrupted.