Well-Acted, but Very Inaccurate.

Rating: 3/10 (23 September 2013)

"Girl, Interrupted" is a 1999 film based off of Susanna Kaysen's memoir of the same name. It follows the protagonist, played by Winona Ryder, as she is institutionalized in Claymoore (McLean Hospital in real life). There, she mingles with a pathological liar (DuVall), a burn victim (Moss), a disturbed daddy's girl (Murphy), an anorexic (Bettis), a dyke (Armenante)—but chief among them is the charming, but heartless sociopath Lisa Rowe, played by Angelina Jolie.
What piqued my interest about this film was the immense praise Miss Brother-Smooching Jolie earned for her performance as a female McMurphy. I've never really enjoyed Miss Jolie in general, as her attempts to be quirky and surreal come across as arrogant rather than endearing. However, I will admit that this is a powerhouse performance. Something that Jolie is talented in is portraying authentic reactions to the events surrounding her character. Lisa Rowe is a very generic sociopath who's observed from a bird's eye view, and whatever credibility this character has is betrayed in the second half of the movie; but in spite of it, Angelina isn't trying to force her mannerisms down our throats. It's clear that she's enjoying every trait of her role, but her performance is very raw.
Now, onto Ryder...I am also not a fan of Winona Ryder, as her talent is often stilted by very whiny, self-indulgent characters. She has powerful eyes and can be expressive when she has to, but other films such as "Alien: Resurrection" and "Autumn in New York" severely waste her talents, as she comes across as bratty and bored rather than enveloping herself in the plot. She is surprisingly decent in this film, but pales in comparison to Jolie. Jolie is fierce and bold in her role as Lisa whereas Winona is fairly stagnant throughout the film. However, there are several scenes where Winona did pull me into her character's drama, particularly when the final showdown occurs between her and Lisa, as well as the final scene between the two (which is admittedly sappy, but the camaraderie does seem genuine at this point).
However, I do have problems with how they portray Susanna Kaysen in this movie. Most of her dialogue is very cloying and morose with little to relate to. They use the term "Borderline Personality Disorder" rather than examine the symptoms of BPD. The Susanna portrayed in this film has few scenes that hint at her diagnosis, i.e. her impulsive sexual activity and her brief mentions of depersonalization. There's a lot more to BPD than that. The movie only scrapes the surface of our main character's condition, and it tricks the viewer into believing that BPD is only about being rebellious rather than truly seeing the helpless paranoia they go through.
That leads to another problem in this movie: the characters' diag-nonsenses serve as thinly-written clichés rather than complex development. Both Susanna and Lisa's conditions aren't truly understood and can even come across as childish. The two leads are labeled as "rebels" but rarely showcase the truth behind their mental illnesses. I have discussed the phoniness behind the diagnosis of BPD in the film, so I won't drivel on any further than that. Although I have praised Angelina Jolie's authentic and even disturbing performance as Lisa, her character disappointed me. I am unsure if James Mangold really understands sociopathy, as Lisa's breakdown in the end makes no sense whatsoever. A sociopath would not be disarmed because a target is no longer easily manipulated. Sociopaths will find new bait no matter what. Again, if we really delved into Lisa's psyche rather than embellish her Hollywood Bad Girl label, maybe it would be more effective.
As for the other characters, they are portrayed by good actresses, but I wish they were given more screen-time. Some of the nervous breakdowns these characters have never struck a chord with me—such as Polly's self-deprecating freakout because of her scars, and M.G.'s breakdown influenced by Lisa—because I never got to know them. Personally, if Brittany Murphy's portrayal of Daisy Randone was given more development, she would've garnered immense praise as well. The same goes to the other actresses. They all have talent and just by watching them, I can tell that they have the ability to convey raw emotion. However, it's all pushed aside for the Kaysen-Rowe camaraderie that has its ups and downs throughout the film...particularly in the second half.
The events that lead to Susanna and Lisa's final showdown is when the movie succumbed to cheap Hollywood Shark-Jumping. As stated by the real Susanna Kaysen, while she was enchanted by Lisa as the others were, she never had a close bond with her in particular. She and Lisa never ran away together; Daisy did not kill herself because Lisa "pushed her buttons", and Lisa never had a mental breakdown because of her deteriorating friendship with Susanna. To say it was "melodramatic drivel" would be an understatement. This is where Mangold really misses the point of Kaysen's memoir. The point of the memoir was to examine social nonconformity, and why it is often mistaken for insanity. The atmosphere of the memoir is sacrificed for a cheap plot line that has Susanna go through great denial and impulsivity until she realizes, gasp, Lisa may be crazier than she is. It's one thing to alter some things according to the Law of Adaptation, but sacrificing the entire point of the memoir for the sake of appealing to "bad girl redeemed" plot line we've seen over and over truly disgraces the source material.
In the end, "Girl, Interrupted" is a guilty pleasure of mine. It appeals more to superficial diagnoses rather than honor the source material, which greatly damaged my expectations for the film. But if you're interested in watching the movie solely for the acting, I suggest you rent this one.
3/10