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Girl, Interrupted Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 57 Reviews)

Score: 78/100

Been a die-hard Cuckoo's Nest fan, I could hardly wait to see Girl, Interrupted, a film, which like Cuckoo's Nest, focuses on people changing and the setting as a mental hospital. Well, although it's not quite the masterpiece that Cuckoo's Nest is, Girl, Interrupted is still very decent entertainment, and will keep audiences intrigued throughout.

Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) is depressed and directionless after finishing high school in the late 1960's. A suicide attempt lands her in Claymore, a mental institution. She befriends the band of troubled women in her ward (Georgina the pathological liar, the sexually abused Daisy, the burn victim Polly) but falls under the hypnotic sway of Lisa (Angelina Jolie), the wildest and most hardened of the bunch. Will Susanna "drop anchor" at Claymore and perpetually act out like Lisa, or will she finally pull her mind together and leave institutional life behind?

Girl, Interrupted is based on Susanna Kaysen's critically-acclaimed book, and the three writers, Anna Hamitlon Phelan, Lisa Loomer and James Mangold do a fine job of adapting it and the script is believable and occasionally moving. Mangled, who also directs, has put an extraordinarily large amount of effort into this picture, he is obviously committed to making it do well, which Girl, Interrupted has done successfully both at the box office and with the critics. Winona Ryder's underrated performance is one of her best in ages, and she brings Susanna memorably back to life. Clea DuVall and Whoopi Goldberg tag along to Ryder nicely, but this is in most ways Angelina Jolie's movie. She is vivid and amazing as the sociopath Lisa, in a performance which won her a Golden Globe and an Oscar. There are flaws in the film, it is sometimes a little shaky on it's feet and the 'Girls Night Out' theme is a little repetitive, but what remains is a quietly touching piece of art that is highly recommendable.

Girl, Interrupted is a big achievement for all the cast and crew, and it is filmmaking of a high order.

"I didn't try to kill myself...I had a headache"
"Girl, Interrupted" is the true story of Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), a young woman who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder during the 1960s. My favorite parts of the film were the transitions between scenes; the movie flowed beautifully. Susanna signs herself into Claymoore, a mental institution, after a failed attempt at suicide. At Claymoore, she meets a wide variety of different girls, each with different problems. There is Lisa the sociopath, played by Angelina Jolie and Daisy, a loner, played by "Clueless's" Brittany Murphy. Whoopi Goldberg rounds out the cast as Valerie, the head nurse on Susanna's floor. A bit reminiscent of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Girl, Interrupted" is one of the finest films I have ever seen. Winona Ryder is brilliant, I have never seen her portray a character better.

Dark and Deep "Interrupted" Had This Girl Raving...
"Girl, Interrupted", one of the best dramatic films in 2000, brings a darker side of life to the screen, not only referring to the time period, but also to the subject matter. Set in the turbulent late 1960s, a time of drugs, politics, and war, it follows the life of Susanna Kaysen, more specifically her two year stay at the famed McLean Psychiatric Hospital. Diagnosed with a "borderline personality disorder", she chooses not to conform to the wishes of the head nurse (Whoopi Goldberg) and psychiatrist (Vanessa Redgrave), but to instead befriend the resident women around her. Among them, a girl who will only eat her father's chicken, a woman who loves "Alice In Wonderland", and a charmingly charismatic sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie), the self proclaimed ringleader of the group. But confronted with the reality of it all and the looming need to be "fixed" Susanna soon realizes that to truly escape and taste her freedom, she will need to confront her biggest fear: herself. Winona Ryder, with an air of innocense and a tremendously realistic range of emotions and talents, has one of the best performances in her career as Susanna, and Angelina Jolie delivers a jaw-dropping (and well-earned Oscar- winning) performance as the troubled Lisa. Although this film is not for the weak at heart (it has disturbing self-mutilation/suicide scenes), it is wonderful in the sense it paints a realistic picture free of inhabitions and boundaries to create a truly remarkable film achievement.