A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Girl Interrupted

Date Viewed: 1/23/00

Details:

Winona Ryder

Angelina Jolie

Whoopi Goldberg

Vanessa Redgrave

Director: James Mangold

Score: +

The Review: Based on the 1992 autobiographical account of Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted explores one of the more frequently (mis)diagnosed psychological syndromes of the late 1960's -- the borderline personality disorder. It's 1967-68 in the greater Boston metropolitan area. Instead of going on to college after graduation, Kaysen (Ryder) confusingly self-commits herself to a psychiatric institution after having tried to commit suicide. Her tenure is supervised by the head nurse -- Goldberg, in a quiet, sympathetic and supporting (in several senses) role. The most notable of Kaysen's ward-mates, Lisa -- a long-time resident who periodically escapes and is captured -- is played by Angelina Jolie in a performance that is alternately over the top manic or aggressively controlling. The evolving relationship between Ryder and Jolie is the primary thread of the film, embedded in a very good supporting ensemble of patients, some kooky, some pathetic. The turn of the seasons is punctuated by TV scenes from the turbulent times, including Bobby Kennedy's run for the presidency and the assassination of Martin Luther King.

Time sequences are seriously disjointed, especially for the first third of the movie, but this is quite well done -- it mirrors the protagonist's inability "to control time," with which the viewer is introduced to Kaysen. Time straightens out as she does. Even fresh out of high school, Kaysen is a budding author (currently two novels and counting, plus this memoir), and her dense and detailed journals become a significant element in her growth and self-discovery, as well as the catalyst for some important character confrontations.

Occasionally disturbing; occasionally familiar (to those of us who went through the Vietnam draft lotteries -- 183); engaging and recommended. But definitely not an upper.

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