Girl, Interrupted [DVD]

The psychiatrist said, "It's not uncommon...it happens to a lot of young women." And then diagnosed the young (female) patient with a "borderline" personality disorder. What that means is "she doesn't seem right"; "she's not getting it"--and that means the young woman was brought up among people with 'resources' and she is not doing everything according to their cultural ethos so her parents will have "bragging rights" about what university she will attend, which would mean they were great parents (which, in essence they were) but they, as parents would worry about that--all parents did during this period: with 'means' or not), because there is this factor that her failure to adhere to the cultural 'tracts' and expectations means that a reflection falls upon the parents and affects their status in their local community and society. Such was the culture during this period. Parents were totally concerned about their reputations in the community--It means and meant an awful lot. And still today, but then, during this period, it was an obsession with parents. People killed to save their reputation and status: checkout "Perry Mason". Parents were very serious about "loosing face." And often their children would embarass them in a timeless teen rebellion. As a last-ditched effort the parents who could afford it sent their children to a sanotorium, other parents set them out into their own independent lives. It is obvioius by the characters that some of these young women wanted to step out of the proverbial box and go it on their own and that caused them problems inside. They felt 'wrong' and their parents and community supported that sense of wrong, but at the same time they felt 'right' for themselves; they found they could not comply with the collective sense that was in place for proper development: "Just do as you're told and you'll be fine," but it caused problems inside. It caused confusion, agitation, resistance and depression and it is very hard to get through this in your young life and make it to the other side where light and life is for you. For a young woman to say she wanted to 'write' without getting a college degree or without getting married first was defined as being 'unfavorable' and more like a 'bum' but today we invite writing careers because sometimes they take off into lucrative careers. Today, women pick and choose when to get married, when to have children and how many, all such as that, but still: SOME young women will have a really hard time, a really serious "mind jam" and can't get on with their life. (Well, young men too...everybody gets jammed at middleaged; so we all go through brain jams that are difficult to get by and live through but they are more natural than crazy: some of us experienced people say.) Afterall, 'crazy' means you're not mentally compatible with everyone else. In the meantime, life is going on and more events happen that sometimes does something like "shock therapy" and "we wake up to smell the coffee" eventually; by then we may be fifty or sixty. We awaken to the fact that life is not something we can really change or design to our liking directly; this is other life going on that we cannot controll. It is something that we may be able to 'structure','order' and 'manage' to a certain extent but we still have to live through it to the other side. Then, there were young women in the sanotorium in this movie who were basically 'kids' and would remain basically kids for all their lives; they trade their parents for caretakers in a luxury sanotorium. Independence and 'be strong and face the world' is a bunch of crap, their minds might say. I prefer to just sit here and be here and not have to deal with people and their criticisms. I'll be a criticism. But some parents can't afford a luxury sanotorium, Whoopi's character tells one of the patients. I liked that line a lot: "It happens to a lot of young women"....it may just happen to all young people. Growing up is hard to do: getting reality straight and feeling our drives pushing us and desiring what we shouldn't have (all of that) and having dreams and wishes in the mind and not realizing what to do with them...all of that is very difficult to get through and learn but most of us eventually do it. It takes quite a bit of adjusting (in stages) to live adult life in a 'real sense' and by the time a young woman does get her bearings she may have had some traumatic events early on that she can't take back, she can't erase, that has ruined her 'perfect' life...and so on, but then, for her to get well she has to keep going and learn hardcore that there is no such thing as a perfect life where people don't die from just about anything, and there is no such thing as perfect people that will not break rules,and, lie and cheat, and that their own life and living is not so broken, not as broken...as it seems to be because 'normal' is a wide field of gray; it is the formulaic structure, plan and goal for the IDEAL life that gets in the way. Real life is very hard to take if you're a stark idealist. And an ideal life is hard to take if you prone to more realism. I think this movie is an American classic in many ways. It is right on. The characters are so believable. (And no, Angelina Jolie does not over-act. She places the role. Without her performance we would not have felt we were in a mental ward in an upper income sanotorium. Like Whoopi Goldberg's character said, "I've worked at the public institutions..." Bravo for the performances!!! Suggestion: Give this to a troubled young girl before she goes off the edge. Show her what the edge really looks like. And don't think the real-life nurses do not know when you're not taking the pills, they do. They may just feel that their job requirement is to give you the pill and not too much else. But, the young people in the sanotorium do feel that when they hurt themselves deliberately they are hurting someone else.--MO

Great vid. There is some seriously good acting in this movie. Not only does Winona Ryder do the best acting (I think) of her career in this one, but Angelina Jolie is absolutely fantastic as the uber cool and rebellious "crazy girl". The story is told mainly from Winona Ryders point of veiw; she is a troubled and somewhat spoiled young adult that lets depression push her nearly to the point of suicide. She acts out again and again until her somewhat affluent but psychotic parents talk her into "voluntarily" committing herself. But Winona's character soon finds out that there is a HUGE difference between being a self centered, spoiled and troubled adolescent, and REAL mental illness. Angelina actually becomes center in the lives of all the other patients as she comes off with this "I'm not crazy, I'm just superior" attitude, and her utter contempt for society, and her absolute certainty that she clearly perceives what the REAL world is all about, is, at first, liberating and cathartic to Ryders character. In other words, she's not crazy, it's the whole world that is mad instead, and she is the single island of enlightenment in a sea of losers. Watching Angelina's portrayal of this young woman as her very real and disturbingly insidious mental issues become ever more evident, is truly astonishing. Actually, Jolie does this part almost too well. If I were not familiar with Jolies talent, and if I'd never seen her awesome acting abilities over the years I would have sworn that they had acquired a real institutionalised mental patient to do this part! All the actors did a spectacular job. I believe this movie blatantly brought the issues of mental health in our society a step closer to educating the the world about mental illness and bringing it out into the open instead of locking human beings away in some dark place...hidden from the eyes of those with tender sensibilities; keeping the insane locked away unseen by the clueless masses. Girl Interrupted, was one of the first ACCURATE stories about what goes on behind closed doors. This vid was a real eye opener to our society as to the issues of mental health in the world. This was about the fourth time I've watched this movie over the years. And as I have watched these actors throughout their careers, I am more impressed each and every time I watch this movie by the talent of those young actresses.

I love this movie I love th actresses. They do amazing job!

A lovely movie, done well

I love this movie so much, it’s so real

Directed by James Mangold (COPLAND, THE WOLVERINE) and starring Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, GIRL INTERRUPTED is the adaptation of Susanna Kaysen's memoir about her time spent in Claymoore for attempted suicide. While I do feel like it is a good film, if a little unspectacular or by-the-numbers, I've never liked Winona Ryder that much. She acquits herself nicely here, but her character is rather vanilla and bland, especially compared to the colorful cast of characters she meets while institutionalized. The most interesting (and most developed) of these is Lisa, played by Angelina Jolie. While she might be better known as a movie star than as a serious actress these days, this performance came before all of that and, in my opinion, is one of her best. In fact, she gives the best performance in the entire film. In terms of thematic content, there are a lot of things said about insanity and mental health. Also, given the time period of 1967-1968, one could infer commentary on the state of America's mental institutions, especially as they applied to women. There's also some subtle commentary on the Vietnam War, although not to a great extent since that wasn't the main focus of the story. Whatever thematic goals the film may have had, however, pale in comparison to the character work and ensemble cast. As a portrait of life in a mental institution during the late 60's, I thought it was very effective, humorous and occasionally poignant. Brittany Murphy also had a small role as a character who is involved with one of the film's more serious moments. There are a couple more things that I thought about while watching this, one of them amusing and the other quite tragic. The first is a part of the film when Lisa and Susanna escape with the intention of going to Florida and getting jobs at the newly established Disney World. Lisa wants to be Cinderella, which is kind of funny considering that just last year Angelina Jolie played Maleficent for Disney. Not quite the same, but still interesting. The other, and which is a bit of a spoiler, is that Brittany Murphy would eventually meet a tragic end like her character in this film. Anyway, this wasn't some brilliant expose of mental institutions but it did function especially well as a character study. Winona Ryder's character was a bit bland, but only because she was completely upstaged by everyone around her. Recommended, but mostly for Angelina Jolie's performance.

This movie is a very good one, why do I think that because I struggle with depression, GAD <Generalized Anxiety Disorder> and ADHD every day. I have found that medication, research and speaking the truth about my " issues" as some say or my craziness has brought me to places I now understand. If I didn't embrace my sanity I would be dead. These are disabilities a lot of people struggle with. I have never been a in a institution as the women in this movie have. But I sure can relate to it. I have had friends that have and I always tell myself I will never go into one because you have to deal with pain and try to live a normal life. I was once told Normal is a setting on a washing machine and boy that is the truth. The story was well played by all actors. The writers did a great job also and I hope to find the book and read it someday. No one is " Normal " we all have our issues and we all must learn how to deal with them the right way. Medication, Counseling, Research and self help books has brought me to understand it and movies like this also. I see so many people self medicate with alcohol, drugs and just not admitting they might have the same problems as I or some of the actors in this movie. Mental Health is a hard thing to deal with but we have to I wish more people would understand the struggles many go through. It kills me to hear if someone in my life committed suicide. It means I have lost another one to these diseases. So if you struggle with any of these issues watch this movie you can learn how to live a life with out being judged by your mental status. I hope this review helps any one with the struggles I face every day. No one is perfect by any means we all have issues and always remember, Normal is just a setting on a washing machine! Take Care and know your not the only one with this disease or other mental diseases out there. I'm going to be the big 50 next year and I have dealt with this disorders in my brain now for the past 30 years and will the rest of the days of my life. But I'm dealing with it not letting it take me down. Thank You and God Bless all who have Mental Disorders! ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Great DVD

Tema muy bien abordado. En estos tiempos donde los "borders" son tan frecuentes en nuestra juventud (los adultos estamos socializados y aceptados), es bien interesante mostrar la incidencia del entorno enfermo y del que trata de ayudar en la rehabilitación en estos casos y las escasas posibilidades. Creo que la actuación de Ryder es tan excelente como la de la ganadora del Oscar. La recomiendo mucho para los padres.

Seriously dark drama, great story

This truely is one of the best movies ever made, I love it so much. Based on the novel by Susanna Kaysen about the 18 months she spent in a mental institution for depression and Borderline Personality Disorder when she was 18 (which is a true story). Although I think that anybody would enjoy this movie, it's special to me because I also suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder myself and it's nice to see a movie which handles the subject sensitively. Borderline Personality Disorder was a very controversial diagnosis in the 1960s (when this movie takes place), as even less was known about it than is now. Very little research was done into it back but the general diagnosis criteria and known sympoms were still the same: 1. Extreme black and white thinking (unable to see the grey area). 2. Unstable relationships characterised between feelings of idealation (love and adoration) and devaluation (anger and dislike). 3. Impulsivity, usually in self-destructive areas (e.g. binge eating, alcohol abuse, reckless driving, excessive spending and building up debt). 4. Mood swings between base (normal) mood, anxiety, irritability and depression. 5. Suicides threats or attempts or self mutilation (cutting, punching etc) 6. Irrational (to others) fear of abandonment and of being alone. 7. Outbursts of anger. 8. Shakey sence of self image - unsure about life goals, ambitions and belives such as what type of friends and lovers to have, carrer paths an sexual orientation. 9. Chronic and persistant feelings of emptyness (also described as boredom or loneliness). The move is nicely paced and gets Susanna into the mental hospital within the first 10 or 15 minutes. The characters include Polly (a schizophrenic who purposely set herself on fire as a child); Janet (an anorexic); Geogina, Susanna's room-mate (a pathological liar) and Lisa (a sociopath). The characters are all amazing well fleshed out and acted. They have very real and brilliantly acted emotions and personalities and are very beliveable as real people. Susanna (Winona Ryder) and Lisa (Angelina Jolie) are particularly good in this movie. A stunning and moving story of Susanna's illness and recovery and the nature of people and of mental ilness. It does a wonderfull job of removing some of the stigma that people associate with mental illness. I would reccomend this movie in particular to people who are interested in mental illness or psychology or have such an ilness themselves (especially BPD) but also to anybody looking for a good movie. This is one of the best.

Great movie starring Anjelina Jolie and Winona Ryder!!

G