One Fell over this Cuckoo's Nest.

Rating: 7/10 (15 January 2000)

Girl, Interrupted: Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) has the distinction of being the only student in her graduating class with no post secondary plans - unless of course you count her desire to be a writer. Her middle-class-cocktail-party-throwing-parents are mortified with the shiftless abomination they've raised, and make no attempt to hide their contempt. When Susanna tries to cure a headache by swallowing a bottle of aspirin chased with a bottle of Vodka, she is sent to think things over in a sanitarium. While there she meets the requisite cast of miscreants, malcontents, and maladjusted mental patients found in every asylum (at least in film).
Ryder is cast against type, stretching her talents to the limit in her portrayal as the dispossessed young woman whose bleak worldview is tempered only by her self-loathing. It is a refreshing departure from her roles in such feel-good films as "Heathers" and "Reality Bites". All kidding aside, this character was tailor-made for Ryder (she has a personal understanding of the subject matter having checked herself into a clinic at age 20 to deal with her anxiety), who was single-handedly responsible for bringing this story to the screen. That is what makes her soulless, drawn, portrayal so disappointing. She spends the bulk of the film wandering about wide-eyed, confused, and virtually devoid of any emotion. The film is not a complete waste however.
Once again Angelina Jolie manages to rise above the material she has to work with ("Playing God" notwithstanding). As Lisa she is prone to wild mood swings whether drug induced or natural. A talented manipulator, she gets what she wants, by whatever means necessary. Though Lisa is crazy, she always manages to keep her dignity, and Jolie never lets her become a caricature. My only complaint is Lisa's epiphany near the end of the film - it is too contrived (I blame that on the writers, not Jolie).
Miss it.