Girl, Interrupted
Stream
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Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were split almost evenly on the film, with most agreeing that Angelina Jolie's performance is electric but disagreeing sharply on whether the rest of the film holds up around her. The central dispute is the screenplay's faithfulness to Kaysen's memoir — many found it smoothed into generic drama at the expense of the book's unsettling texture, while others felt the performances partially compensate. Winona Ryder's lead turn proved particularly divisive, with some finding her passivity true to the character and others finding her simply inert.
“Girl, Interrupted is a decent adaptation of [Kaysen's] memoir of this period, neatened up and polished for an audience more familiar with gloss than grit.”
Tom Coates·BBC
“The film is mostly about character and behavior and although there are individual scenes of powerful acting, there doesn't seem to be a destination. That's why the conclusion is so unsatisfying: The story, having failed to provide itself with character conflicts that can be resolved with drama, turns to melodrama instead.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Each girl is simply issued a quirk that she drags around like a ball and chain.”
CNN
“Both women have connected strongly to their parts, and they ensure their characters' reality even if the dramas they are involved with don't always rise to that standard.”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
Accolades
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
James MangoldDirector
Winona RyderSusanna
Angelina JolieLisa
Clea DuVallGeorgina
Brittany MurphyDaisy
Elisabeth MossPolly
Jared LetoTobias Jacobs
Jeffrey TamborDr. Potts
Vanessa RedgraveDr. Wick
Whoopi GoldbergValerie
Angela BettisJanet
Jillian ArmenanteCynthia
Drucie McDanielM-G
Mychael DannaComposer
Susanna KaysenWriter
Anna Hamilton PhelanWriter
Jack N. GreenCinematographyGirl, Interrupted
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were split almost evenly on the film, with most agreeing that Angelina Jolie's performance is electric but disagreeing sharply on whether the rest of the film holds up around her. The central dispute is the screenplay's faithfulness to Kaysen's memoir — many found it smoothed into generic drama at the expense of the book's unsettling texture, while others felt the performances partially compensate. Winona Ryder's lead turn proved particularly divisive, with some finding her passivity true to the character and others finding her simply inert.
“Girl, Interrupted is a decent adaptation of [Kaysen's] memoir of this period, neatened up and polished for an audience more familiar with gloss than grit.”
Tom Coates·BBC
“The film is mostly about character and behavior and although there are individual scenes of powerful acting, there doesn't seem to be a destination. That's why the conclusion is so unsatisfying: The story, having failed to provide itself with character conflicts that can be resolved with drama, turns to melodrama instead.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Each girl is simply issued a quirk that she drags around like a ball and chain.”
CNN
“Both women have connected strongly to their parts, and they ensure their characters' reality even if the dramas they are involved with don't always rise to that standard.”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
Accolades
Genres
Drama
Cast & Crew
James MangoldDirectorWinona RyderSusannaAngelina JolieLisaClea DuVallGeorginaBrittany MurphyDaisyElisabeth MossPollyJared LetoTobias JacobsJeffrey TamborDr. PottsVanessa RedgraveDr. WickWhoopi GoldbergValerieAngela BettisJanetJillian ArmenanteCynthiaDrucie McDanielM-GMychael DannaComposerSusanna KaysenWriterAnna Hamilton PhelanWriterJack N. GreenCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy