Girl, Interrupted (1999)reviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
"Girl, Interrupted" is a true story about writer Susanna Kaysen, played by Winona Ryder (Mr. Deeds), when she was a young woman and attempted to take her life by swallowing a bottle of aspirin. Her parents check in into a private mental and emotional health facility where she meets a myriad of interesting characters, including the sociopathic Lisa, played by Angelina Jolie (Alexander). Jolie won an Academy Award® for her performance that year. Eventually, Susanna befriends Lisa and becomes somewhat like her to endure her stay in the facility. That is until she realizes the reasons Lisa is actually in the facility, then Susanna makes an honest effort to get better and get signed out. In the short, since part of Susanna's therapy was to write in her journal, the movie becomes an unusual tale of how Kaysen became a writer. The picture is very well paced, and despite being a talking chick-flick, it has a lot of attention grabbing moments evenly spread out. Ryder was very good as Susanna, but Jolie eats up every scene she is in. It is sad to know this was Jolie's final role where she was casted for her abilities as an actress and not for her sex appeal like every other movie she's done since. Simply said, she is jaw dropping awesome in this movie, and the scene where Susanna finally calls her on her bullshit is just heartbreaking because of her choices as an actor. Another memorable role for me came from Clea DuVall (But I'm a Cheerleader) who showed a lot of control. Her character was a compulsive liar, but DuVall found a way to express what she REALLY wanted to say within her lies. Brittany Murphy (Little Black Book) also appears as Daisy, a rich daddy's girl who buys her way out of the facility, only to find out she is the most screwed up of them all. The ending is very sad and motivational. It also gives a great message of what Susanna learned. It basically says crazy people are simply amplified versions of a person's abnormal qualities. It was extremely smart and warming. It shows director James Mangold (Identity, Kate & Leopold) can indeed show a high amount of talent and a firm grasp on material. He just needs to choose better projects now. Even if you don't like chick-flicks, you should maybe give "Girl, Interrupted" a try. It's very intense in spots and may proove different than any other title in the chick-flick genre, as it did for me. Benn - Where's the Humanity?
This one may be a chick-flick, but it's a chick-flick about f**ked up chicks. That's cool, almost like a female version of "One Flew Over the Coo-Coo's Nest," but without the scam to keep the lead character out of prison.