Ryder and Jolie anchor this genuinely interesting movie about 18 months in a mental institution.

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2010)

"Was I ever crazy? Maybe. Or maybe life is."
Based on the non-fiction novel of the same name, Girl, Interrupted is about a young woman in the 60's named Susanna (Winona Ryder) who is encouraged by her parents to enter a mental institution for a short time after she attempts to commit suicide. As the short stay ends up turning into a much longer one, Susanna has to make an actual attempt to deal with her issues, or risk becoming like the near-permanent residents of mental hospital she a patient in.
Most of this non-linear movie revolves around Susanna's relationships with the women she meets during her stay, including the volatile and sociopathic Lisa (Angelina Jolie), anti-social Daisy (Brittany Murphy), with her odd fixations, and child-like Polly (Elisabeth Moss). I don't know how accurate each woman's behaviors were to their actual conditions, but it was interesting seeing that what Susanna says at one point during the movie was actually true; that the people in the hospital really did and wanted the same things that we all do, only to an extreme.
I hope I'm not making Girl, Interrupted sound like some documentary on mental health, because that's not what it is at all. It's about one young woman and how her stay in this place with these women changed her and how she handled her own life. I thought it was pretty good. It portrays its subject matter frankly but respectfully, and the story doesn't drown in melodrama or sentimentality, as this kind of movie easily could have. Ryder, Jolie, and the rest of the cast were all great, and my attention was held from beginning to end. Recommended.