By Ruth E. Fabiano
Every piece of this movie is significant. It is like an allegory, telling us that maybe some things
shouldn't be so significant. Even Winona Ryder's wide brown eyes make us want to look into her mind to see
what is really making her so depressed and we soon find that it is a symptom with no cause.
Based on the book "Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen (played by Ryder), the premise is the 1960's, in the heat of
 social revolution, and Susanna, plagued by something she cannot define, downs a bottle of aspirin chased by a bottle of vodka. Claiming she did not really try to kill herself, she is sent for a year to a private mental institution.
She enters the world of the dead, inhabited by living bodies. Girls, anywhere from 13 through 30, who are pathological liars, sociopaths,
anorexics and obsessive compulsives, scare her. Although she clearly sees something wrong with them, them like her, are convinced that everyone else is crazy and only they know the real truth. A girl who does seem to know the truth is sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie, GIA). Having lived in the institution for 8 years and frequently escaping, Susanna and Lisa befriend each other, often doing
each other favors and sneaking with the other girls into the basement late at night to bowl. These were the times they were free within their element.
The movie, although over 2 hours long, seems to flow, show ups and downs in everyone's lives, just put under a microscope in this medical profession. A particularly intense scene is the
altercation between Lisa and Daisy (Brittany Murphy, CLUELESS), when the truth about Daisy's
bulimia comes out. Redemption only comes from within, Susanna proves, her journal being a bible of sorts, a spirituality that everyone has to find for themselves. Whether it was in Jesus, a spouse or a journal, it has to come from "the wretch".
The best thing about this movie is that it is far from everyone's expectations, no matter how many times you turn on the trailer to hear the clip of "There She Goes", it curves in a different way than one would expect. The release of this movie was perfect, at a season with fluff pieces, empty dramas and drab comedies, "Girl
Interrupted" is a breath of fresh air, helping everyone to turn within and discover the truth within themselves.
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