self-indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2015)

Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) ODs on aspirins and family friend Dr. Crumble convinces her to go to Claymoore Hospital. She's struggling to find herself as a writer and had a fling with her parents' married colleague. She's the only one in her '67 class not to go to college. She insists that she's didn't attempt suicide. Her roommate Georgina Tuskin (Clea DuVall) is a compulsive liar. Sweet Torch Clark (Elisabeth Moss) has burns on her face. Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy) has food and daddy issues. The police returns escapee Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie) who is a whirlwind rebellious personality. Soon, Susanna realizes that this is not simply for a short rest. Her boyfriend Tobias Jacobs (Jared Leto) gets drafted. Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) is the wise nurse in charge. Dr. Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) declares Susanna has borderline personality disorder. Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) takes over her case with some big insights.
Nurse Valerie calls Susanna "a lazy, self-indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy." I disagree on the lazy part because she's trying very hard. However, much of the movie feels indulgent to me. Valerie tells Susanna that she's not really sick. The big surprise of the movie is that the mental hospital and its staff are not evil. They are mostly reasonable. Potts comes off a little clueless but Susanna is really just rebelling against her uptight parents and fighting against herself. That's not to say that this is an useless exercise. There are some good performances from the actresses. There is one great section with Ryder watching Jolie throw verbal bombs at Murphy. To me, that's the most impressive section of the movie. The final confrontation is a bit melodramatic. The movie should have wrapped up soon after the Jolie Murphy confrontations.