Worth it for Ryder, as always

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2000)

Girl, Interrupted
After a failed suicide attempt, a sad teenage woman named Susanna (Winona Ryder) is sent to Claymoore, a mental institution in suburban Boston. It is there that Susanna reluctantly tries to find the help that she needs. Ingratiating herself in the microcosm of the hospital, Susanna is confronted with true mental instability and tries to reach within her newfound friends and see why she has resisted life for so long.
From the novel by Susanna Kaysen, GIRL, INTERRUPTED can be easily summed up as a female ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, but that doesn't necessarily do justice to GIRL. Directed by James Mangold (COPLAND), GIRL is a very satisfying, moving drama with an arresting cast of twenty-somethings on the brink of stardom. Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy (CLUELESS), Clea Duvall (THE FACULTY), and Whoopi Goldberg head the cast with the aforementioned Ms. Ryder. There is a swimming pool full of talented people to gaze upon in this film, yet the raw talent of Ryder makes it worth the time. Angelina Jolie makes another misstep in her career (after BONE COLLECTOR) by playing her unstable character Lisa like the rebel wild child that mirrors Jolie in real life. This might be explained away as a character trait, but too many moments in GIRL showcase Jolie absurdly playing to the rafters. An actress of such uncontested power, Jolie suffers from trying to conquer the world with a performance that is often without subtlety. While the current rash of awards keeps the glow on Jolie, Ryder turns in one of her best performances. As the meek and confused Susanna, there isn't a false moment anytime Ryder is onscreen.
The trouble with GIRL is the predictable - but needed - attempt to ground the somewhat lighthearted first half of the film into hard core drama. Like the schizophrenic personalities that inhabit Claymoore, GIRL, INTERRUPTED is like watching two completely different films at once. An experience that is positively frustrating. Trying hard to keep the focus steady, Mangold lets the film get away from him in the second act; with a climax that does little to resolve the story.
It is Ryder and most of the cast that makes GIRL end up being a winner. You walk away from GIRL, INTERRUPTED with the nagging feeling that most of the details are missing, yet satisfied that the film gave us such a wealth of talent to behold.------- 7