Girl, Interrupted Review
by Jerry Saravia (Faust667 AT aol DOT com)July 2nd, 2000
I never thought that mental illness could be portrayed in such a
stale, anonymous manner but that is how "Girl, Interrupted" unspools
its subject matter. The film wants to make the case that mental
illness can be a state of mind for some, and a strong reality for
others - If only the young women portrayed possessed some core of
humanity.
The film begins with Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), an 18-year-old who
has just drunk a bottle of vodka while ingesting a bottle of
aspirin. She is diagnosed with "borderline personality disorder," and
is thus sent to Claymoore hospital in Boston. The screenplay, adapted
from Susanna Kaysen's true-to-life novel, never makes it clear whether
Susanna admitted herself to the hospital or if her parents had her
admitted. Nevertheless, she is taken in to Claymoore's psychiatric
facility, and supervised by a head nurse played by Whoopi
Golodberg. Susanna is faced with an array of distinguished women such
as one who nearly burned her face off, another one obsessed with
laxatives and chicken, and so on. The one foxy chick who seems truly
nutty, pardon the pun, is Lisa (Angelina Jolie), a highly dangerous
sociopath who confuses her aorta with her neck. Lisa feels threatened
at first by Susanna but gradually, they click together.
While watching "Girl, Interrupted," I was reminded of the stark
documentary, "Titicut Follies" by Frederick Wiseman, which dealt with
the horrors of a mental hospital. When you saw the patients, you knew
they were patients afflicted with an illness. The same holds true of
Milos Forman's classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." "Girl,
Interrupted" features patients that might be at home in TV's "Dawson's
Creek" - that might be a little extreme but these women hardly seem
troubled, only bland occupants of a far too sanitized looking
institution.
The problem lies in the screenplay that supplies character types, not
true characters of depth and emotion. Susanna hardly seems the
slightest bit troubled - her scene with the psychiatrist should have
convinced him that she was perfectly sane but what do I know. Perhaps
in 1967, before Prozac became a household name, psychiatrists had
their own preconceived notions of what mental illness was. But these
girls seem relatively harmless, even to themselves. This is more like
a watered down version of "Cuckoo's Nest," and far too bland to
inspire much interest.
The sparkle of "Girl, Interrupted" can be found in Jolie's vibrant,
edgy performance. She brings soul and an allure to Lisa, and it is
gut-wrenching to watch her. Her long blonde silvery hair and big,
clownish lips evoke a tough, sexy demeanor that is riveting to
watch. I would followed this complex character anywhere.
The rest of "Girl, Interrupted," however, is yawn-inducing and lacking
in thematic richness. It sort of drifts away and hardly leaves a trace
of itself. The boredom is seldom interrupted.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at http://buffs.moviething.com/buffs/faust/
E-mail me with any questions, comments or complaints at [email protected] or at [email protected]
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