A Fulfilling, Moving Experience.

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2000)

Definitely not just a "chick flick", Girl, Interrupted is an underrated little gem. Perhaps the best mental-hospital movie since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Winona Ryder is Susanna, a 60's sensitive type who commits herself to a mental institution after she takes a bottle of aspirin to cure a headache. We are then introduced to the inmates who will quickly form Susanna's clique: Daisy (Brittany Murphy), an anorexic daddy's girl; Polly (Elisabeth Moss), whose horrifically scarred face masks her innate sensitivity; and Lisa (Jolie), a free-spirited sociopath who has turned asylum escapes into an artform. Of course, the girls bond (though never in a sickly way), and have "adventures" (midnight bowling, sneaking a peek at their psychiatric reports); yet this is never as cute as you might think, director Mangold always injecting the proceedings with a slight, distinctly anti-Tinseltown edge.
The performances are incredible, Winona Ryder is at her best, Britanny Murphy pulls off a strong, believeable appearance as Daisy and Whoopi Goldberg is typically great. But, here, Angelina Jolie is the real sparkle. Girl, Interrupted is HER movie, and it bought her into stardom, she won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her moving, memorable performance as Lisa. Director James Mangold's direction is cruelly underrated, his effort is extremely impressive. The script is thought provoking and excellent, Mangold again is underrated, while his co-writers Lisa Loomer and Anna Hamilton Phelan aren't bad at all.
Girl, Interrupted results as a must-see drama, well worth your time.
I rate Girl, Interrupted 8 out of 10.