A charming portrait of an ordinary girl

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2013)

The most striking thing about Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) might be that she is just an ordinary person like you and me. Sure she might see things but that's probably just because of smoking pot and partly a coping mechanism for a difficult situation at home and in school.
Girl, Interrupted shows us how an impressionable teenage girl suffers from mild depression, meets various colorful people in an mental institution and tries to find her place among them and in the world. Lisa is a strong and influential character, played scarily and crazily by Angelina Jolie. She is in her element when surrounded by needy girls with emotional problems, a queen bee with an audience for her theatrical stunts. The central psychological focus of the film is how Susanna is drawn to Lisa and how she realizes that Lisa's power is imaginary and she can do better than her.
The film is also a cool portrait of the 60's: the institution is hopelessly antiquated in its methods and the boyfriend is drafted for Vietnam.