Title: Girl, Interrupted Director: James Mangold
Release Date: December 21, 1999
Run Time: 127 minutes
Genres: Biopic, Drama
Starring: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Vanessa Redgrave, Whoopi Goldberg
Where to Buy: Amazon
Rating:
When 17-year-old Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) is sent to a mental hospital in 1967, she must choose between the worlds of those who belong on the inside of the institution and the often difficult reality on the outside.
Review
Girl, Interrupted is one of the patron saints of sad girl movies. I loved this movie when I was an edgy teen, most girls my age did, and like me my teen daughter now also loves this movie. I’ve watched it dozens of times and it is a favorite despite being an objectively terrible movie.
One of the highlights of the movie is the pure talent of it’s cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Moss; this film is flush with best actress candidates. Jolie and Murphy in particular are absolutely magnetic, both characters are cemented in my memory. There was something about the depiction of female friendships with it’s highs and lows and frank portrayals of mental health that spoke to me when I was young.
Now the elephant in the room, which is that this film was based off of a very real memoir. I had watched the film dozens of times by the time I read the memoir, and I knew ahead of time that the film differed from its source material and that the author, Susanna Kaysen, was critical of the film. Having now experienced the two I completely understand why. The film takes certain liberties with the events of the story, like continuing the story of an abuse victim to create conflict, or inserting a scene that depicts Susanna as a racist despite this never happening to her (and if anything, she writes poignantly about how the Civil Rights Movement affected her). All of this for the sake of melodrama which has left a rather bad taste in my mouth.
Despite the film’s many issues, it’s still a decent watch if you separate it from the source material. Great for fans that love toxic friendships and unhinged weird girl stories.
Quote
“When you don’t want to feel, death can seem like a dream. But seeing death, really seeing it, makes dreaming about it fucking ridiculous.”
Content Warnings
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