Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) ODs on aspirins and family friend Dr. Crumble convinces her to go to Claymoore Hospital. She's struggling to find herself as a writer and had a fling with her parents' married colleague. She's the only one in her '67 class not to go to college. She insists that she's didn't attempt suicide. Her roommate Georgina Tuskin (Clea DuVall) is a compulsive liar. Sweet Torch Clark (Elisabeth Moss) has burns on her face. Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy) has food and daddy issues. The police returns escapee Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie) who is a whirlwind rebellious personality. Soon, Susanna realizes that this is not simply for a short rest. Her boyfriend Tobias Jacobs (Jared Leto) gets drafted. Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) is the wise nurse in charge. Dr. Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) declares Susanna has borderline personality disorder. Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) takes over her case with some big insights.

Nurse Valerie calls Susanna "a lazy, self-indulgent little girl who is driving herself crazy." I disagree on the lazy part because she's trying very hard. However, much of the movie feels indulgent to me. Valerie tells Susanna that she's not really sick. The big surprise of the movie is that the mental hospital and its staff are not evil. They are mostly reasonable. Potts comes off a little clueless but Susanna is really just rebelling against her uptight parents and fighting against herself. That's not to say that this is an useless exercise. There are some good performances from the actresses. There is one great section with Ryder watching Jolie throw verbal bombs at Murphy. To me, that's the most impressive section of the movie. The final confrontation is a bit melodramatic. The movie should have wrapped up soon after the Jolie Murphy confrontations.

I had never heard of Susanna Kaysen when "Girl, Interrupted" came out, but this movie based on her memoirs was really something. It tells the story of when she was put in a mental institution in the late '60s. Winona Ryder, whose roles sometimes seem either silly or overdone, does a very good job as Susanna, showing her as a strong-willed young woman who just couldn't seem to express herself right. Believe it or not, Angelina Jolie - looking more haggard than usual - also does a really good job in the movie. She plays Lisa Rowe, whom Susanna befriends in the institution. Lisa can gravitate between affectionate and acerbic, and is truly the bane of the establishment.

Maybe this movie on one level does show how events affected another person, but it really is more than that. It shows how the Vietnam War is affecting everyone, as Susanna's boyfriend Toby Jacobs (Jared Leto) might get sent to Vietnam. All in all, this is one of the many movies that my generation can remember fondly, just as my parents' generation fondly remembers "The Graduate". Also starring Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Jeffrey Tambor, Whoopi Goldberg and Vanessa Redgrave.

It makes sense that they showed this film after the supporting actress of the film was the winner of The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols (though it could have been Marilyn Monroe). Anyway, this is true story based on the accounts of Susanna Kaysen (played by Winona Ryder). Basically she has been having delusions and an affair with the husband of her parents' friend, also she was possibly trying to commit suicide with vodka mixed with aspirin. She is short to Claymoore for a short period, and she is obviously uncomfortable with all the crazy, noisy patients around her. But as she settles into the environment she becomes influenced to write talking to nurses and patients, including Valerie Owens, RN (Whoopi Goldberg),pathological liar Georgina Tuskin (Clea DuVall),Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy) who eats nothing with people around her, badly scarred (by fire) Polly 'Torch' Clark (Elisabeth Moss) and the biggest exasperation for the staff, sociopath Lisa Rowe (Oscar and Golden Globe winning Angelina Jolie, the only Oscar nomination). Lisa has a history of escapes, and they almost become best friends with their shared opinions of staff and the hospital. Also starring Jared Leto as Susanna's boyfriend, Tobias 'Toby' Jacobs, Jeffrey Tambor as Dr. Melvin Potts and Vanessa Redgrave as Dr. Sonia Wick. With good performances from Ryder, Jolie and Goldberg, this might not be as poignant as One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, even being based on truth, but it is a film to be seen. Winona Ryder was number 88, and Angelina Jolie number 74 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars. Good!