One Life Interrupted

Rating: 8/10 (26 March 2001)

Some outstanding performances (including one Oscar winner) highlight this story of a young woman who loses a year of her life incarcerated in a mental hospital, mainly due to society's penchant at the time for institutionalizing even the borderline mentally infirm. `Girl, Interrupted,' directed by James Mangold, is the story (based on her autobiography) of Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), a young aspiring writer suffering from depression. After what may or may not have been a suicide attempt (she chases a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka), she is spirited off to a private mental hospital, where she is diagnosed as having a `borderline personality defect.' Simply put, it means she is young, intelligent and having trouble coping with an era (the 60s) and a world in a state of flux, as well as the pressure from her parents and peers to attend an upscale university. Susanna, however, wants only to live life and write, and though she knows her own mind in this regard, the forces that surround her are too great, and she is torn between what she wants, and what the `world' expects. All of which leads her into some gray areas in which time and space as she knows it suddenly does not necessarily coincide with the continuum of reality.
A powerful film that makes a statement about tolerance and the methods of treatment available for the mentally ill, it underscores the necessity for compassion and understanding of those unable to function on their own. And it successfully illustrates that in dealing with people in need, there must be a humanistic approach, as it is more involved than merely separating the wheat from the chaff.
As Susanna, Winona Ryder gives a performance that is both affecting and intense; she readily conveys the angst of a young woman confused, yet determined, who has yet to learn one of life's most valuable lessons: Make the decision. Susanna has been walking a fence that gets narrower with each step she takes, until finally, her fall to either one side or the other was inevitable. What she had yet to learn at that point, was that it is better to stop before you reach the end of the fence, so as to be able to decide for yourself which way you're going to fall. That way, for better or worse, at least you know that `you've' made the decision that's going to affect your life, which makes it easier to live with. Susanna could have saved herself a lot of misery had she stated unequivocally to her parents, and most importantly to herself, that after High School graduation `this' is what I am going to do. A hard concept to grasp, however, when one is eighteen and being pulled in opposite directions at the same time.
In her Oscar winning performance, Angelina Jolie proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that, indeed, there is substance beneath the beauty. As Lisa, the sociopath with an ice cube for a heart, she brings an enigmatic, intimidating presence to the screen. A soulless miscreant, she thrives within the confines of the institution by bullying her way through every day of her life. On the `outside,' however, she finds repeatedly that the bravura that works for her in confinement attracts only the kind of attention that gets her sent back again. It's a dynamic, over-the-top, in-your-face performance for which she deservedly received the award for Best Supporting Actress. And, hopefully, after proving here what she is truly capable of, Jolie's career will successfully transcend her looks and that already famous pair of lips (though following this effort with the stagnating `Gone In 60 Seconds' does not bode well).
The supporting cast includes Clea DuVall (Georgina), Brittany Murphy (Daisy), Elisabeth Moss (Polly), Jared Leto (Tobias), Jeffrey Tambor (Dr. Potts), Vanessa Redgrave (Dr. Wick), Whoopi Goldberg (Valerie), Mary Kay Place (Mrs. Gilcrest), Kurtwood Smith (Dr. Crumble) and Angela Bettis (Janet). A somewhat disturbing film, `Girl, Interrupted' will affect you on any number of emotional levels and will command, not only your attention, but your involvement. Simply put, this is riveting drama that refuses to let you off the hook for even a moment. There's a message in here about the perspectives and significance of society as a whole, but more importantly, about the impact an individual can make on our world and the people around us, and of the importance of forging ahead and making a decision before it's too late. I rate this one 8/10.