Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7417 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-16
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 127 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on Susanna Kaysen's acclaimed journal-memoir, Girl, Interrupted bears inevitable resemblance to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and pale comparison to that earlier classic is impossible to avoid. The mental institution settings of both films guarantee a certain degree of déjà vu and at least one Oscar winner (in this case, Angelina Jolie), since playing a loony is any actor's dream gig. Unfortunately, director James Mangold seems to have misplaced the depth and delicacy of his underrated debut, Heavy, despite a great deal of earnest effort by everyone involved. It's easy to see why Winona Ryder chose to star in (and executive-produce) this nearly worthy adaptation of Kaysen's book, since it's a strong vehicle for female casting and potent drama. Mangold certainly got the former; whether he succeeded with the latter is not so clear. To be sure, Ryder conveys the confusion and chaos that signified Kaysen's life during nearly 18 months of voluntary institutionalisation beginning in 1967. But the film seems too eager to embrace the cliché that the "crazies" of the Claymoore women's ward are saner than the war-torn world outside, and lack of narrative focus gives way to semipredictable character study.

Susanna (Ryder) is labeled with "borderline personality disorder," a diagnosis as ambiguous as her own emotions, and while Jolie chews the scenery as the resident bad-girl sociopath, Ryder effectively conveys an odyssey from vulnerable fear to self-awareness and, finally, to healing. The ensemble cast is uniformly superb, making this drama well worthwhile, even as it treads familiar territory. If it ultimately lacks dramatic impact, Girl, Interrupted makes it painfully clear that the boundaries of dysfunction are hazy in a world where everyone's crazy once in a while. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Adapted from Kaysen's popular memoir, GIRL, INTERRUPTED is handled with extreme sensitivity by director James Mangold (HEAVY, COPLAND.) Winona Ryder stars as Susana, a troubled teenager whose confused attempt at suicide lands her in a mental hospital. Once there, she meets an odd assortment of characters, including Lisa (Angelina Jolie), who at first mesmerizes Susana with her uninhibited demeanor. The pair form a tight bond, but that connection is threatened when Lisa begins to spiral even further out of control. Ryder and Jolie's intense performances are just one of many reasons to watch this picture.

Customer Reviews

all round brilliance
A wonderful film with brilliant acting from the whole cast.
Winona Ryder plays the main character who narrates a tale of being admitted into a mental institute after trying to kill herself. Jaded with life and without a long term plan for the future that involves marrying and reproducing Susanna Kaysen is considered unstable. Diagnosis - borderline personality disorder.
In the institute she meets people the general public would consider the 'real crazies'.... As the story unfolds however we learn to see each of them as individuals and the stories behind why they are who they are...

Angelina Jolie's performance as a sociopath is unbelievable. The first thing that crossed my mind when I saw this was 'she absolutely and totally deserved that oscar.' If you've written her off as an actress give her one more shot with this movie and I guarantee you will change your mind.

Based on the book by Susanna Kaysen this is a true life story about self discovery and a must see movie... You may well laugh or cry. Maybe even both.

Powerful, never lets go... And Angelina Jolie? Superb.
At first, I was weary of seeing Girl, Interrupted, for fear of it being a chick-flick or another cliche-ridden carbon copy of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Just 15 minutes into the movie, however, and I realised that this was not the case.

The story is well-crafted, the direction is good, the script is superb- but what really stands out is the acting. The entire cast in "Girl, Interrupted" is nothing short of amazing. This movie was made in 1999, and yet even 7 years later, I must admit that, apart from one or two notable exceptions, no performances come to mind that even come close to those in Girl, Interrupted.
Winona Ryder's somewhat understated performance as the protagonist is excellent, for instance.
This, however, is really Angelina Jolie's movie. Jolie steals the show as Lisa, a raving sociopath who's power and magnetism cannot help but elicit compassion or even attachment from the audience despite the fact that, objectively, she is a wholly unsympathetic character.
Angelina Jolie's oscar-winning performance is so resonant that, despite the fact that the cast is terrific, when Jolie is on the scene everyone else might as well just lie down and play dead.

Special commendations must be made for avoiding the pitfalls of usual looneybin cliches.

All in all this is a powerful, emotionally complex and haunting movie that never lets go, even after the credits have stopped rolling. A must-see.

Add this to your list of must-sees!
'Crazy isn't being broken, or swallowing a dark secret. It's you, or me, amplified...'

Girl, Interrupted is an incredible film, insightful and memorable. Winona Ryder identifies in one of the DVD interviews that the book appears impossible to adapt, but all involved with the film have done a terrific job here. The film manages to stick very closely to the book and yet still tell a coherent story; anyone who's read Kaysen's biography will know that this is no small achievement! The characters' relationships with themselves and each other are at turns heartwarming and heartbreaking. Angelina Jolie does a particularly excellent job playing the magnetic Lisa, but all the cast give great performances.

The DVD extras are very good, and it's particularly interesting to see the deleted scenes offer a little bit more insight into some of the characters. The film's music is also worth a mention, with some really great song choices.

This film is resonating and beautiful, and in short, I can't recommend it highly enough. Go watch it already.