Screenwriter Interrupted.

Rating: 3/10 (9 March 2016)

Girl Interrupted (1999): Dir: James Mangold / Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy, Clea DuVall: Misguided film about intrusion of the mind and those disturbances that hinder our daily functions. Winona Ryder is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and spends two years in an institution. She should have been diagnosed with worse than that for agreeing to be part of this exercise in shame. She has flashbacks to a past relationship and an affair with a married man. None of this is dealt with properly. This is actually about her friendship of sorts with an insane sociopath named Lisa. It displays an institution where patients seem to come and go as they please, which leads to a night of bowling. Director James Mangold gives insight but his Copland is a much better example of his work. The only performance that rings true in this formula crap fest is Angelina Jolie. She steals the film as Lisa, but Ryder never seems to be there. We never really buy into Ryder's release in its hokey happy finale. Whoopi Goldberg as a caregiver is a prop that seems like the umpteenth detail stolen from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Brittany Murphy and Clea DuVall are amongst those who play fellow patients. The theme is handled too lightly to take seriously in its disruption of the mind and the road to sanity. Score: 3 ½ / 10