Shawn Donoghue
RTA HN 3/1/11
Jim DeRogatis
“Girl, Interrupted” (Directed by James Mangold 1999)
Based on Susanna Kaysen’s novel, “Girl,Interrupted”, tells the story of a young woman just out of high school who, instead of choosing a fancy four year Ivy League school like that of her class mates, tries to commit suicide by taking a bottle of aspirin followed by a bottle of vodka. The year was 1967, and mental illness and suicide attempts were not as understood as they are today, so this young woman (Susanna) is admitted to Claymoore, a mental institute, where she is by far the least troubled of all the women also residing there. Rather than confining herself away from the clinically insane women, Susanna befriends them and rebels against the system with them. This is where she runs into trouble, because instead of receiving help for her mental state, Susanna begins to make a mockery of the system, treating it more like high school than a psychiatric hospital.
Winona Ryder plays Susanna as she explores the mental constructs of her perceived illness, is she really crazy or is she just a, “lazy, self-indulgent little girl, who is driving herself crazy” as the head nurse Valerie (Whoopie Goldberg) explains. During times of intense drama, Ryder is excellent. Her deep, dark eyes accurately convey the thoughts and emotions expected of the suicidal. But it’s when Susanna progresses, becomes healthier, that Ryder disappoints. The scene where Susanna is well enough to leave Claymoore and is saying her good-byes, is one of the sappiest the film has. Ryder has a difficult time portraying the transition from cynical, depressed Susanna to happy, healthy, “normal” Susanna, and instead of it be a touching, inspirational transition- it comes off as melodramatic and bathetic.
One of the women befriended by Susanna while at Claymoore is Lisa, a sociopath, played by Angelina Jolie. Jolie’s icy blue stare aids in the ferocity needed for this character, and she creates the film’s most intensely dramatic moments. Her monologue to Daisy (Brittany Murphy) gave the impression of someone the feeling who was truly hollow and without conscious. But she too disappoints when it was time for her character to shift mindsets and get better. When Susanna comes to say good-bye to her, her crocodile tears and far-away look detract from the fierce character she had just built, making getting well seem like something for the weak, as opposed to one of the hardest things a person could ever face.
Whoopie Goldberg plays Valerie, the head nurse on the second floor, and arguably the strongest character of the bunch. “Val” breaks down sanity so that it’s not something that it’s not mocking the women, but something they can and desire to achieve, even in the face of ignorance and racism. Whoopie gives her character a very den mother-like feel, comforting or stern when necessary, but the transition between the two feelings doesn’t feel fake like those of Ryder or Jolie. She uses humor to break up the film’s constant mood of depression and angst, a much-needed relief, and her character is the best of this film.
While the film made achieving mental health feel like a melodramatic adventure, it did accurately portray the general lack of knowledge and understanding of mental illness in the 60’s. The hospital’s therapist Melvin (Jeffery Tambor) stupidly lets Daisy go home, only to have herself commit suicide, and falls asleep during therapy sessions. Susanna’s parents can’t handle what is happening to their daughter not just because it causes them emotional distress, but because they’ll have to tell all of their snotty friends (one of which makes the poor decision to yell at the women in public, to which Lisa brilliantly says, “Some advice, okay? Just don't point your fuckin' finger at crazy people!”) In this area, the film succeeds- but is unsuccessful at representing the struggles and triumphs of the mentally unstable.
