Author Susanna Kaysen's biggest problem was probably being born in an era when conformity was the name of the game and well-to-do girls who wanted to sample life on the edge or experiment sexually with more than one partner were instantly labeled as mentally disturbed. That's exactly what happened to Kaysen in the late 1960s, when she was packed off to a psychiatric hospital following a botched suicide attempt. Kaysen came out of the experience with a book, "Girl, Interrupted," which has become something of a touchstone for young female readers over the years. Many of her fellow patients never came out at all.
Had she grown up in the 1990s, with her gifts for communicating adolescent angst through language, Kaysen would almost be assured of having a record deal or at least her own website. She was Goth before anyone ever heard of the term.
There's no mystery as to why Kaysen's autobiography attracted the attention of Winona Ryder. The role of Susanna fits the actress marvelously, and her fans may even see Susanna as a continuation of the smart, introspective teens Ryder played in such career-establishing hits as "Beetlejuice" and "Heathers." And, after spending a large portion of the last few years keeping a low profile onscreen, Ryder certainly must be anxious to get back in the spotlight.
Unfortunately for her, however, there's an even juicier part in "Girl, Interrupted," and it has gone to the exotic, unpredictable Angelina Jolie. So while Ryder is baring her soul and facing off against such formidable types as Whoopi Goldberg (cast as a stern but sympathetic nurse) and Vanessa Redgrave (in a cameo as a psychiatrist who pierces the clouds over Susanna's psyche), Jolie strides in and steals the film out from under its star.
Jolie, who made a name for herself with a sensational performance as an ill-fated supermodel in the 1998 HBO film "Gia," plays Lisa, an eight-year veteran of the hospital who appears to be beyond treatment. She's a wildcat, flirting outrageously with both men and women and generally creating havoc in any place she visits.
Because Ryder's boyish look here seems patterned after the late actress and cult figure Jean Seberg, it's not much of a stretch to link "Girl, Interrupted" to Seberg's best film "Breathless," the french New Wave masterpiece in which she played a confused American who tries to lose her own identity in a whirlwind affair with a Parisian criminal (Jean-Paul Belmondo).
Susanna, like nearly everyone else in the ward, is initially drawn into Lisa's orbit and savors the woman's boundless energy and attitude. In just the same way Lisa overwhelms Susanna, the statuesque Jolie dwarfs the tiny Ryder. But although Susanna eventually stands tall, Ryder, fine as she is in the movie, cannot help but remain eclipsed by Jolie. Ryder's work here is often affecting, particularly when she starts her journey toward self-awareness in the story's second half. Jolie smartly realizes Lisa is not a sympathetic figure and doesn't pander for the audience's pity.
Instead, she's always withholding a little something, teasing the viewer about what's really brewing behind this hellion's half-open eyes. Eventually, we find ourselves worrying more about what's going to happen to Lisa than about Susanna's fate; hey, we all know she went on to write the book anyway, so things must have worked out somehow. Lisa has mystery on her side.
The acting battle is the primary strength of "Girl, Interrupted," which too often resorts to a melodramatic cliché (a suicide, an escape attempt, etc.) whenever the plot stalls. All these incidents may have actually happened during Kaysen's one-year "rest," but the screenplay doesn't make them feel real. On the other hand, there are a few interesting touches scattered throughout the script, such as Susanna's roommate's obsession with the "Oz" books by L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson and Lisa's quoting of Dorothy Parker. True, these kids may have some problems, but they've also got terrific taste in literature. James Sanford
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