Review

It's 1967 - a time during which societal upheaval gave standard teenage hormonal upheaval a run for its figurative money - and 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) is experiencing slightly more than her share of adolescent angst. As the only member of her ritzy high school's graduating class without immediate plans to attend a high profile college or university, Susanna need only blurt out that she intends "to write" to complete the impression that she's a waste of plasma at best, a full-fledged - and promiscuous - nutcase at worst.

After Susanna washes down a bottle of aspirin with a hearty dose of vodka, demurring "I had a headache," a physician suggests she check herself into a metal institution for a therapeutic rest. So it is that Susanna arrives at Claymore, a well-intentioned funny farm established in 1896.

Ryder, who was active in bringing the real Susanna Kaysen's memoir to the big screen, is very adept at projecting the "rabbit in the headlights" look of consternation that signals all is not well in her cranium. As compassionate afro-sporting nurse Val (Whoopi Goldberg in a calm, affecting performance) gives her a tour of the women's ward, Susanna already knows she's not crazy-crazy the way the other inmates are. "I'm just here to rest," is her handy mantra.

Susanna's otherwise cordial roommate Georgina (Clea Duvall) is a pathological liar making her way through all of the "Oz" books. Polly (Elisabeth Moss) has a horribly disfigured face from a childhood incident involving questionable judgement. One girl never abandons her doll. Daisy (Brittany Murphy) has an eating disorder so all-pervasive that she speaks of her future dream house as having 'an eat-in chicken' instead of 'kitchen.' Daisy also has a valium habit, a laxative habit, a doting father and a private room that's off limits to the other girls. None of these young women or their afflictions are remotely attractive. But then there's Lisa (Angelina Jolie).

Lisa, who is captured and returned to Claymore after a two-week absence the very day Susanna arrives, is a gorgeous poster girl for mental illness. Brash, defiant, rule-busting Lisa is seemingly so vital she siphons in the weaker patients around her. "Where's Jamie?" Lisa shouts after noticing the new recruit and her room assignment. Susanna's berth with Georgina became available with the recent death of a certain Jamie. Georgina supplies the matter-of-fact background:"Jamie was Lisa's best friend. She was mad because Lisa ran away, so she hung herself with a volleyball net."

Although stubborn and strong-willed in her own way, Susanna is irresistably drawn to Lisa's gutsy humor and effortless charisma. Settling into Claymore routine, Susanna spends much of her time scribbling in her journal while allowing Lisa to influence her more and more. Lisa routinely "tongues" her "meds" [hides obligatory pills under her tongue rather than swallow them as directed]. Knowing excatly how to further wound wobbly egos, Lisa also "pushes buttons" by taunting the staff and her fellow residents. She's not a nice person but her malevolent streak combined with her physical beauty make her highly seductive.

In her eight years on the premises, Lisa has often escaped and given the outside world a spin. But she can't escape from herself because as even the ill-adjusted know, wherever you go - there you are.

Susanna, who believes "there's a mystical undertow in life," is diagnosed with "borderline personality disorder." (As fans of his work know, believing there's a mystical undertow in life could just as easily be dubbed 'Krzysztof Kieslowski Syndrome.') As a borderline case, Susanna is tempted to let herself get crazier rather than work on getting well. Hangdog therapist Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) doesn't inspire Susanna to be anything but uppity. Val says she's "a lazy self-indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy." But Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) takes a different, ultimately constructive tack.

Girl, Interrupted has its moments (the showdown with a former classmate's cuckolded parent on an excursion into town, Susanna and Lisa's impromptu visit to Daisy once she's moved to a place of her own) but mostly feels like a series of staging areas for verbal catfights. Ryder and Jolie are simultaneously convincing and just a little too "Hollywood" in their portrayals. The inner workings of mental illness remain a cipher. In the end, Susanna appears to get well because she simply wasn't all that sick to begin with and Lisa remains ill because, well, because she's nuts.

Director James Mangold (Heavy, Copland) places his camera in a playground where the favorite attraction is riding on mood swings. Jolie, who has proved herself a consistently compelling screen presence, chews the scenery in a flamboyant, always interesting fashion. (Actually, this is one of those rare films where "to chew the scenery" isn't a mere figure of speech. As one of Susanna's fleeting boyfriends exclaims on a pre-draft-dodging visit to 'rescue' Susanna and take her with him to Canada: "You don't belong here. Those girls are eating the fruit off the wallpaper. They're insane.")

The film's slightly enigmatic title is taken from a Vermeer painting, "Girl Interrupted at Her Music," which the young Susanna saw at the Frick Gallery, only to encounter the influential portrait again many years later.

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Lisa Nesselson