A realistic drama

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2005)

Girl Interrupted is not another drama about interpersonal issues. It is a drama about intrapersonal issues. The main character Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) interacts with a perfectly portrayed cast while she experiences an inner journey that is catalysed through her interactions and observations of others. The naturalism of the film in terms of acting and cinematography allows the audience to be be drawn into Susanna's world. From looking at the deleted scenes on the DVD it is also clear that the director has worked hard to maintain the focus of the film and this is very clear when you watch the movie, there is hardly a moment where Winona is not on screen and this is very much deliberate.
The enormous strengths of the film do however serve to contrast some of it's weaknesses. The cinematography, while exceedingly natural and smooth, is also quite utilitarian, having been subordinated to the purpose of plot development. The greatest flaw however is the predictability of the scripting and supporting characters. While the main character Susanna tends to defy any label other than 'human person' the other supporting characters tend to fall under far more genre-specific stereotypes. The excellent acting on the part of everyone in this film helps to overcome this weakness however. In terms of scripting the predictable elements are not so obvious as to prevent the film's dialogue to be both funny and truthful.
For a film based on a true story (a book) Girl Interrupted manages to be gimmick-free much to its credit. The acting and directing is so smooth that even the frequent use of flashbacks seem entirely natural.
A brilliant execution 4 out of 5 stars.