Girl, Interrupted (film)
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| Girl, Interrupted | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | James Mangold |
| Produced by | Douglas Wick Winona Ryder |
| Written by | Susanna Kaysen James Mangold Lisa Loomer |
| Starring | Winona Ryder Angelina Jolie Clea DuVall Brittany Murphy Elisabeth Moss Travis Fine Jared Leto |
| Music by | Mychael Danna |
| Cinematography | Jack N. Green |
| Editing by | Kevin Tent |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 14, 2000 |
| Running time | 127 min. |
| Country |  |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $24 million |
| Gross revenue | $28,871,190 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Girl, Interrupted is a 1999 drama film about a woman's 18-month stay at a mental institution, starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. It was adapted from the original memoir Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen and directed by James Mangold. The screenplay was written by James Mangold and Lisa Loomer. The original music score was composed by Mychael Danna. The film is rated R by the MPAA, for strong language and content relating to drugs, sexuality, and suicide.
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[edit] Plot
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Susanna Kaysen (Ryder), eighteen years old in April 1967, voluntarily checks herself into the fictitious Claymoore Hospital (based on McLean Hospital, the actual institution featured in the memoir), after an overdose of aspirin. Kaysen is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and her stay extends one year.
She befriends fellow patients Polly Clark (Elizabeth Moss), Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie), Georgina Tuskinn(Clea DuVall), Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy), and others, and forms a small troupe of troubled women in her ward. Susanna is enchanted in particular by the unruly Lisa, who encourages her to stop taking her medications and generally resist the influences of therapy.
Time passes, and a night comes when Polly awakes screaming "My face, my face!" The nurses remove her and place her into solitary confinement with the intention of calming her down, but she continues sobbing. Troubled, Susanna (with the help of Lisa's keys) steals a guitar and they sit outside Polly's room, singing. Eventually, staff members notice. When an orderly (John, Susanna's friend) walks by, she pulls him to the ground and kisses him.
The next morning, Susanna is called into the office, where she is analyzed once more. Lisa is moved to another ward, as is the orderly.
Lisa and Susanna break out of Claymoore with the intention of going to work in Walt Disney World (which did not open to the public until 1971). They spend the night at the house of the recently released Daisy, who hangs herself the next morning after Lisa antagonizes her. Lisa shows no remorse for her actions while Susanna sobs heavily while looking at Daisy's dead body. Lisa runs away after taking Daisy's money, while Susanna calls the police and returns to the hospital. She also adopts Daisy's pet cat Ruby. In the next few weeks, she begins to cooperate with her doctor and the therapy seems to be helping. She is scheduled to be released.
However, Lisa eventually returns after overdosing on drugs and, upon finding out about Susanna's pending release, develops a vendetta against Susanna. On her last night, Susanna awakes to discover Lisa reading her diary to the other girls. In the ensuing dispute, Lisa threatens to kill Susanna, but in the process Susanna launches a pointed verbal attack upon her, calling her "dead". Lisa undergoes a mental breakdown. Susanna is released the next day.
At the end of the film, Susanna states that by the 1970s, most of her friends were released. Although the movie doesn't elaborate on this the book reveals that both Georgina and Lisa were later released.
[edit] Cast
- Winona Ryder as Susanna Kaysen
- Angelina Jolie as Lisa Rowe
- Clea DuVall as Georgina Tuskin
- Brittany Murphy as Daisy Randone
- Elisabeth Moss as Polly "Torch" Clark
- Travis Fine as John
- Jared Leto as Tobias "Toby" Jacobs
- Jeffrey Tambor as Dr. Melvin Potts
- Vanessa Redgrave as Dr. Sonia Wick
- Whoopi Goldberg as Valerie Owens, RN
- Angela Bettis as Janet Webber
- Jillian Armenante as Cynthia Crowley
- Joanna Kerns as Annette Kaysen
- Bruce Altman as Prof. Gilcrest
- Mary Kay Place as Barbara Gilcrest
- Ray Baker as Carl Kaysen
- KaDee Strickland as Bonnie Gilcrest
- Kurtwood Smith as Dr. Crumble
[edit] Author opinion
The author, Susanna Kaysen, was among the detractors of the film, angered by the "melodramatic drivel" Mangold used with the script by conjuring up many stories that never happened in the book (such as Lisa and Susanna running away together). [1]
[edit] Awards
- Academy Awards
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Angelina Jolie
- Golden Globe Award
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Angelina Jolie - "Lisa Rowe"
- Screen Actors Guild Award
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Angelina Jolie
[edit] Filming
Filming took place along Main Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, as well as in Harrisburg State Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mechanicsburg was chosen for its old fashioned appearance and its old style drug store simply titled "Drugs," all of which gave the film its time-dated appearance. [2] Deleted scenes were also filmed at Reading's Reading Public Museum.
[edit] Soundtrack
- Merrilee Rush performing "Angel of the Morning"
- Petula Clark performing "Downtown"
- Skeeter Davis performing "The End of the World"
- Aretha Franklin performing "The Right Time"
- Jefferson Airplane performing "Comin' Back to Me"
- Them performing "It's All Over Now Baby Blue"
- Chambers Brothers performing "Time Has Come Today'"
- The Band performing "The Weight"
- The Mamas & The Papas performing "Got a Feeling"
- Wilco performing "How To Fight Loneliness"
- Simon & Garfunkel performing "Bookends Theme"
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ *Danker, Jared. "Susanna Kaysen, without interruptions", The Justice, February 4, 2003.
- ^ Information on the filming of Girl, Interrupted at Harrisburg State Hospital, including a studio press release on the building and Dorothea Dix.
[edit] External links
- Girl, Interrupted at the Internet Movie Database
- Girl, Interrupted at Allmovie
- Girl, Interrupted at Rotten Tomatoes
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