Girl, Interrupted (1999) - Thoughts and Opinions?

I hated seeing Daisy hanging there dead. Poor thing.

It was very overwrought melodrama. And although it was based on Susanna Kaysen's memoir (Kaysen hated the movie), it is largely fictional. A lot of things were made up. It shows Susanna easily gaining access to her medical records, when in reality it took a lawyer to get them. Susanna never ran away with Lisa; they never go to Daisy's apartment. In reality, a nurse informs the patients at the hospital that Daisy committed suicide. Lisa was quite a character, but she was not the insane train wreck Angelina portrayed her as. There was no "Jamie", who used to be Lisa's best friend. The movie was a lot of Hollywood hooey.

Winona Ryder thought this movie would be her big moment. I think she thought she'd get nominated for an Oscar. Boy, did that backfire! Angelina got all the attention with her showier role, and won an undeserved Oscar. At any rate, Winona's forte was playing weird, quirky teenagers. This was her last chance at doing what she did best; playing a teenager. The character of Susanna Kaysen was 17. Winona Ryder was 27 when she played her.

This and [italic]Drop Dead Gorgeous[/italic] both use the song “Downtown” by Petula Clark.

Winona looks beautiful in this.

I miss Brittany Murphy

Angelina's performance didn't impress me all that much tbh. She was like a cartoon version of a femme fatale with a bit of histrionic/narcissistic personality disorder thrown in. Very OTT and stereotype. And 'dangerous and sexy' isn't really all that hard to pull off if you look like her. All you need is the confidence to go all out.

Brittany Murphy was way more impressive imo.

"It was very overwrought melodrama."

Agreed. I spent the whole movie wanting to slap the whiny self-absorbed protagonist.

I thought it was great.

[Quote] Brittany Murphy was way more impressive imo.

I agree. I always forget a young Misha Collins has a small role in this movie too.

Real-life Susanna thought the film romanticized living in a mental institution and made them look almost like a cool place to be in.

Enjoyed the film for what it was- Melodrama.

Love the scene in the ice cream parlor.

The book is OUTSTANDING. I read it once a year.

[Quote] Love the scene in the ice cream parlor.

I do too.

Brittany Murphy stole the film. She was so heartbreaking.

Ok movie but one of the worst titles ever.

I agree with everyone that Brittany Murphy's performance is the heart of the film. I found Ryder too rigid and distant (maybe that was the point) and Jolie just way too over the top and hammy.

Murphy was heartbreaking and believable.

Would love to see the original 3 hour long cut of this!

Bad wigs on both Angelina Jolie and Brittany Murphy.

Murphy should have won supporting. Jolie was co-lead. Oscar category fraud has ruined careers.

Pic of the real Susanna in her younger days. She looks like Julie Harris in The Member of the Wedding.

The film was a bit like Prozac nation. But at least this film had one somewhat sympathetic main character (Daisy ) though. Murphy should have done more character actress work. The entire time I was watching Prozac Nation I just kept thinking "Just off yourself you hate filled bitch " about the main character .

It's certainly entertaining, and the supporting cast is amazing (down to smaller roles like Jared Leto and the Vanessa Redgrave cameo). It's also quite nicely shot and with a great soundtrack. But it IS histrionic, and the portrayal of mental illness is 'questionable' to say the least (as well as the added 'titillating' elements like the lesbian kiss and visit to the apartment). At the end of the day the film doesn't really have anything to say, and exists solely for the purpose of actressing.

Kaysen's book is good too but has some similar problems. I liked Winona Ryder until the "your heart is COLD" screaming scene that just rang very false. Jolie is effectively uninhibited and wildly funny, if a bit on the hammy side. But she works the part so well and you can see why it was a breakout part for her (at that point more of an 'it girl' or indie actress known for her wild personal life than her acting talent). I know Courtney Love was originally slated for her role, and you can see a bit of that in Jolie's performance. Murphy is heartbreaking in all her jitteriness (while also being blackly funny), and Whoopi is truly the soul of the film. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how real and incandescent she can be. "Lisa, your aorta is in your chest." The scene where she calls Susanna out for being self indulgent is incredibly satisfying.

Ryder optioned the book because she saw it as an Oscar vehicle. This was always odd to me, because it's not every easy to win an Oscar playing someone who is depressed. And Jolie had the showier role and outshone her. I think Ryder was legit terrible in the bathtub scene with Whoopi where she targets her for her race. The scene needed to have Ryder go full throttle before breaking down in tears and apologising to Whoopi (due to being mentally unstable enough to crack and say those awful things). Otherwise, it feels like it comes out of nowhere and makes the character unsympathetic.

Winona Ryder is not really an actress.

22I lost all sympathy I had for her character after that. She just came off as a nasty head case who uses her "illness " to be a cunt rather than some troubled soul you want to root for. Speaking of Goldberg, she's a pretty good actress. I'd like to see her have a mini comeback, I don't think she even cares that much about the View anymore.

Brittany Murphy definitely stole the show, even if it was Jolie that received the Oscar; Winona didn't really shine compare to the other actresses, but she had a tougher role: Susanna just seemed like a spoiled brat next to the other girls who had genuine mental health issues. She was a millennial before there was such a thing, whereas the Murphy character was a genuinely damaged person

The image of Daisy’s dead body hanging there always haunted me.

This movie was a favorite of mine as an adolescent/teenager. I rewatched it last night for the first time in probably 10+ years, and was surprised by how awful Winona Ryder's performance was. Everybody else in it outacts her by miles, even the smaller supporting performers like Clea Duvall and Angela Bettis. I think Ryder was very miscast as the lead. It's still a solid, somewhat sentimental/soapy drama, though—I love the atmosphere and time period.

The soundtrack is great but I prefer the supporting cast over Ryder and Jolie. Goldberg is a great actress when she puts in the effort. I don't know what her problem is. She got too comfy on The View and not even sure she has an interest in acting.

I really miss Brittany. I never ever expected that trajectory for her. I really thought she would become an in-demand character actress and have an Oscar by now. I was wrong.

I don't know why, but it was sad watching this film after Brittany Murphy's death. Whoopi was terrific in here. She reminded me of a true nurse at one of those places.

It was hard in general for me to watch the movie having been put away twice. The opening sequence of Susanna at the hospital with everyone asking a million questions hit a little too close to home.

Oh, and Jeffrey Tambor looks exactly like Dr. Phil.

I didn't realize CLove was originally short listed for Lisa. That would have been a much different film.

Courtney made a point in saying that if she had acted in the movie she would have been more generous and less inclined to be a scene stealer like Angelina was.

I loved the book but didn’t care for the film.

Susanna Kaysen called Angelina Jolie’s performance “histrionic,” and I have to agree. Chloe Sevigny was robbed of the Oscar that year for Boys Don’t Cry.

I get Girl Interrupted confused with Gone Girl

Angelina definitely overacted, though her performance was still much better (and more interesting) than Winona's. Both felt kind of hollow overall though, especially when you compare them to the performances by the supporting actors. The supporting cast really makes the movie IMO; Clea Duvall, Angela Bettis, Whoopi, Elizabeth Moss, and of course Brittany Murphy, all make the film worth watching. I agree that Chloe deserved the Oscar over Angelina that year--Chloe gave a fantastic, understated performance in Boys Don't Cry, more akin to those given by the supporting cast of Girl, Interrupted.

A few mentioned Chloe Sevigny for being robbed in Boys Don't Cry. I think she would've been good in Girl, Interrupted.

I want to post a funny video from youtube here on datalounge. Can someone tell me how to do it?

[quote]Courtney made a point in saying that if she had acted in the movie she would have been more generous and less inclined to be a scene stealer like Angelina was.

Courtney would have been way too old for the part. She was 35, the rest of the cast in their mid to late 20's.

R37 maybe so--I don't recall how old Lisa was supposed to be, though the character seemed mid-late 20s to me, which Angelina was. That being said, I'm pretty sure that Susanna was supposed to be 18, and Winona was nearly 30 at the time she made this movie. I never bought her as an 18-year-old in the film.

To be fair, many 18 year olds acted and looked older back then.

R36, go away.

Loved it! Watched it quite a few times, over the years. It astounds me how well cast a film it was. I cut my bangs just to look like Angelina, she was so wild and tragic-sexy. Too bad the bleach fried my hair.

Brittany Murphy was better than WInona and Angelina

it was Brittany's film, no one else could compare.

So... both this one and Drop Dead Gorgeous were released the same year, both used the old song "Downtown" and included Brittany Murphy

Brittany was so hilarious, even when she wasn't necessarily trying to be. The way she casually calls everyone "asshole" just makes me laugh.

I see it listed on my cable guide frequently, but I've never seen it. The comments here aren't tempting me, either. FWIW, I liked 'David and Lisa,' 'Lilith' and 'Sucker Punch.' And 'Bedlam.' Man, how many mental institution movies are there, anyway(s)?

I don’t understand why Angelina HOlie was nominated (and won) for Best Supporting Actress when Brittany Murphy gave a better supporting actress performance.

Drop Dead Gorgeous was likely far better. I haven't seen this one.

R47 she was a big deal and new fresh face

R49 So basically you’re admitting awards are given based on popularity and not talent or how good the performance was.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Jolie and her performance. They ate it up.

R50, you're just realizing this? Any award based on voting instead of judging is just a popularity contest. BTW, I HATE awards shows--Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globules: couldn't tell you who won any of them. Oops, Billie Eilish won a bunch o' Grammys (Grammies?), right?

R45 it is a funny touch, but I think part of the reason it's funny is that her inflection and the way she stresses it makes her sound like a petulant little girl who's just learned a new curse word—every time she says it, it's exaggerated, like she's wielding it as a weapon. It really demonstrates the stunted, childlike nature of her character. I'm not sure if this was a touch Brittany made herself or if it was in the screenplay, but it's a subtlety that gives more information than is immediately obvious.

Jolie wasn’t really acting as Lisa.

I loved Elisabeth Moss as "Torch".

The line “Eat In Chicken” has always stuck with me.

I always feel people on here are a bit harsh when it comes to Angelina in this

Insane that Angelina won supporting that year, she wasn't even the best performance in that movie. She won for being beautiful and barely competent.

Brittany Murphy at 2:48 gives me life.

I’ve always been haunted by the Eat In Chicken conversation.