Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Director:

James Mangold

Writers (WGA):

Susanna Kaysen (book)
James Mangold (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Based on a true story

Plot:

Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Attempt | Suicide | 1960s | Escape | Mental Institution

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Winona Ryder	...	Susanna Kaysen
Angelina Jolie	...	Lisa Rowe
Clea DuVall	...	Georgina Tuskin (as Clea Duvall)
Brittany Murphy	...	Daisy Randone
Elisabeth Moss	...	Polly 'Torch' Clark
Jared Leto	...	Tobias 'Toby' Jacobs
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Dr. Melvin Potts
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Dr. Sonia Wick
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Valerie Owens, RN
Angela Bettis	...	Janet Webber
Jillian Armenante	...	Cynthia Crowley
Drucie McDaniel	...	M.G.
Alison Claire	...	Nurse Gretta
Christina Myers	...	Nurse Margie
Joanna Kerns	...	Annette Kaysen

Also Known As:

Durchgeknallt (Germany)
Durchgeknallt - Girl, interrupted (Germany) (TV title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and content relating to drugs, sexuality and suicide.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:PG (cut) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #36459) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hanover, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

3 Art Entertainment

Trivia:

Claire Danes auditioned for the role of Lisa.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Susanna walks past a Robert Kennedy campaign yard sign as she leaves her house to go to the mental hospital. It is fall 1967. Kennedy didn't announce his intention to run for president until March 1968

Quotes:

Susanna: What happened to Polly?
Lisa: What needs to happen? No one's ever gonna' kiss her, man. You know, they're building a new Disney Land in Florida. If I could have any job in the world, I'd be a professional Cinderella. You could be Snow White. And Polly could be Minnie Mouse. Everyone would hug her and kiss her and love her and no one would ever know what was in that big ol' head of hers, you know?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Chronicle: Hell Mall (#1.21)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Fine showcase for Ryder

It's always tough in today's goal-obsessed society to be someone who isn't quite sure what they want, but woman and minorities especially have it tough, because they seem to be automatically assigned "roles" for them(if you're a woman, even today, people still ask you when you're going to get married; if you're black and look big, people ask if you're an athlete). In the 60's, author Susanna Kaysen was in a similar position; she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, but knew she didn't quite fit into the norm. Because of that, and because of some legitimate problems(she tried to kill herself by swallowing a bottle of aspirin), she went into a mental hospital and was tagged with having "borderline personality disorder," a catch-all phrase which meant whatever the doctors wanted it to mean. From her experiences in the hospital, Kaysen wrote the book GIRL, INTERRUPTED(the title comes from a Vermeer painting), and now comes the movie version from James Mangold and Winona Ryder.

Mangold's first two films, HEAVY and COPLAND, were both about main characters leading lives of quiet desperation; the pizza chef in HEAVY unable to express himself, and the partly sheriff in COPLAND who must learn to assume his responsibility with that position. Susanna fits in with those two characters, and Mangold does just as good a job with her, except for some melodramatic scenes near the end. There are some major themes going on here, like whether Susanna is really crazy, just spoiled, or conditioned to think something is wrong with her, the nature of what "crazy" is in the 60's, and of course being a woman at the time, but Mangold avoids making big statements for the most part, instead concentrating on Susanna's growth into being a little more sure of herself.

As has been said before, Ryder brings a lot to the table, not just being a talented actress, but life research, having spent time in a hospital due to exhaustion(this is why she pulled out of GODFATHER PART III as well). And instead of going for obvious drama, she too just makes Susanna's recovery a gradual and detailed journey, except for those melodramatic scenes. The first third, which seems to be influence by SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, flashes back and forth through time, as if showing Susanna feeling lost and fragmented. The rest of the movie is more linear, but Ryder doesn't make it boring.

Some people have dismissed this as a chick ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, which is the usual knee-jerk response whenever a mostly female cast tackles what is normally done with a mostly male cast. In truth, they're very different movies, primarily because in CUCKOO, we're meant to see the hospital staff, represented by Nurse Ratched, as evil, trying to break down the patients rather than build them up. Here, on the other hand, while we're meant to see the system's shortcomings(in addition to what I said before, the different meanings of "promiscuous" when applied to men and women), the hospital staff is generally seen as trying to do the best they can. The patients may make fun of the doctors(well-played by Jeffrey Tambor and Vanessa Redgrave) and occasionally challenge the nurses(head nurse Whoopi Goldberg gives her best performance in a long time), but there's no real hatred here, except maybe from Lisa.

Angelina Jolie certainly has a flashy role with Lisa, the resident sociopath, but makes her seem real, until the movie betrays her at the end. When she's pushing people's buttons, she's actually quite sly about it, which is a lot more multi-dimensional than some have made it out to be. The rest of the cast playing patients is also good(it was a little heartbreaking seeing Elisabeth Moss playing a burn victim, especially when they show a picture of her as a young girl, where she looks like she did in IMAGINARY CRIMES). But it's Ryder who is the main reason for seeing this fine movie.