“Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy.”
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.
Where to Watch
Streaming, rent and purchase options
Cast & Crew
Winona Ryder
Susanna
Angelina Jolie
Lisa
Clea DuVall
Georgina
Brittany Murphy
Daisy
Elisabeth Moss
Polly
Jared Leto
Tobias Jacobs
Jeffrey Tambor
Dr. Potts
Vanessa Redgrave
Dr. Wick
Whoopi Goldberg
Valerie
Angela Bettis
Janet
Jillian Armenante
Cynthia
Drucie McDaniel
M-G
Alison Claire
Gretta
Christina Myers
Margie
Joanna Kerns
Annette
Travis Fine
John
Gloria Barnhart
Older Catatonic
Josie Gammell
Mrs. McWilley
Bruce Altman
Prof. Gilcrest
Mary Kay Place
Mrs. Gilcrest
Ray Baker
Mr. Kaysen
KaDee Strickland
Bonnie Gilcrest
Christian Monroe
Ronny
Kurtwood Smith
Dr. Crumble
Story & Production Details
Reviews & Thoughts
Back in the late 1990s, when it was announced that Susanna Kaysen's 1993 memoir _Girl, Interrupted_ would be turned into a movie, many actresses were reportedly fighting to join the cast that included a number of strong female leads. In the end, Winona Ryder was chosen to play Susanna Kaysen, a teenage girl who overdoses on aspirin and is admitted to psychiatric hospital. While in the 1960s institution, she meets and befriends many of the other patients, including sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie) and schizophrenic Polly (Elisabeth Moss), and nurses including Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg). It is difficult to believe that at the release of _Girl, Interrupted_ Angeline Jolie was barely starting in her acting career. This was a time before Tomb Raider, and even further before Changeling and Mr and Mrs Smith. Rather, Jolie had a handful of acting credits and one notable film (Gia). So, it is perhaps with huge credit that she was picked to handle such a complex character as Lisa. And it is Lisa who really keeps _Girl, Interrupted_ moving forward, earning Jolie a well deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress - her only Academy Award to date. Susanna, while the protagonist and perhaps more together mentally, spends most of the film going with the flow, at one moment grateful for the support of her roommate and then the next swept up in Lisa's chaotic whirlwind of destruction, never really offering much to the story other than a set of eyes to view it through. The final act is the explosive conclusion that the film's initial promise deserves, but overall _Girl, Interrupted_ can't shy away from the fact that not a lot really happens over the course of its runtime. Each of the girls are in the institution through no fault of their own, and their personalities are intrinsically linked to their conditions, so it is difficult to follow exactly what their redemption arcs are. Perfectly watchable, especially for Jolie's performance, but by no means a must-see.
Sometimes you see them as crazy or mentally ill, but they are the cure that keeps you from going crazy if you love them. The movie touched my feelings when I realized that we were the disease that penetrated their bodies and made these angels crazy
