Classics: A Review of Girl, Interrupted By Lauren Ennis

Mental illness is a topic that has been portrayed with varying degrees of success since the earliest days of cinema. As social awareness of and attitudes towards mental illness have evolved, so too have the images  of mental illness portrayed on-screen. Throughout this shift in cultural understanding cinema's presentation of mental illness has dramatically shifted between damaging stereotypes to glamorizing mental illness as a form of quirkiness or creativity. Fortunately, in recent years cinema has begun offering more realistic efforts that shows the effects of mental illness upon its sufferers and those closest to them, while still offering hope for a brighter, more stable, tomorrow. One such film is the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted. Adapted from Susana Kaysen's bestselling memoir of the same name, the film follows a teen girl as she struggles to come to terms with her mental illness. The film provides viewers with an insider's view of both life in a mental health facility and life with mental illness while reminding mental health sufferers that with help they can lead a full and fulfilling life.

The story begins with eighteen year old Susanna entering Claymoore Hospital (a thinly veiled fictional version of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts) after attempting suicide by overdosing on aspirin. Although she insists that the overdose was accidental she reluctantly admits herself to the hospital at her parents' urging. Upon entering Claymoore she soon encounters an array of fellow patients suffering from various mental illnesses. During her stay is most affected by her interactions with charismatic sociopath Lisa and obsessive-compulsive sexual abuse victim Daisy who each lend a cautionary example of what could await her if he fails to get help. Over the course of her stay, she leans vital lessons that allow her to lead a fulfilling life outside of Claymoore in which she can thrive rather than merely survive.

Girl, Interrupted sets itself apart from similar dramas through its blunt portrayal of life with mental illness which is both sympathetic and empowering. Too often those living with mental illness are portrayed as either victims or villains rather than as the complex and multifaceted people they actually are. In Girl, Interrupted however, Susanna and each of the young women whom she encounters are presented as three dimensional characters with strengths weaknesses rather than as stereotypes or walking lists of symptoms. As a result, viewers cannot help but become invested in each of their stories as they face the same all too real struggles that millions suffering from mental illness encounter each day. Girl, Interrupted earns particular note for the nuance of its script which empathizes with its characters without making excuses for their actions. For example, while the film acknowledges the tragedies of Lisa's continued confinement and Daisy's eventual suicide it also highlights the ways in which those events could have been avoided if Daisy and Lisa had utilized the resources offered to them. In this way the film empowers mental illness sufferers by reminding them that they have the power to start on the path to a better tomorrow if they take even one step towards getting help today. Despite its unflinching portrayal of its subject matter the film is neither exploitative nor bleak as it empatheticaly portrays the obstacles faced by mental illness sufferers and those around them and the ways that, with treatment, those obstacles can be overcome.

Kaysen's memoir is brilliantly brought to the screen by the film's talented cast. Whoopie Goldberg gives an effective understated performance as no-nonsense hospital nurse Valerie. Brittany Murphy compellingly portrays the contradictions of Daisy's arrogant, haughty, exterior and internal torment. Angelina Jolie steals each scene in which she appears  in her explosive performance as the magnetic Lisa. Winona Ryder excels in her double duties as both actress and executive producer, with her role as Susana standing out as one of thee most authentic and complex of her career.

Girl, Interrupted is a masterful portrait of the ways in which mental illness interrupts and alters the lives of those touched by it. Through its complex script and multifaceted performances the film aptly portrays one unique group of women while offering universal insight into the struggles of mental illness. For an honest depiction of living and coping with mental illness take a brief interruption with Girl, Interrupted.