Girl, Interrupted
1999
***½
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Elisabeth Moss, Clea DuVall, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Jillian Armenante
Susanna, a young woman struggling with mental health issues, is admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the late 1960s. As she confronts her own identity, she forms complex relationships with other patients, particularly the charismatic but unpredictable Lisa. James Mangold's captivating drama is based, at times loosely, on the 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen, yet it often echoes the story beats of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The resulting film is moving but somewhat predictable. Angelina Jolie, who plays Lisa, won an Academy Award, but the other performances are equally strong.
