Girl, Interrupted [DVD]

This truely is one of the best movies ever made, I love it so much.Based on the novel by Susanna Kaysen about the 18 months she spent in a mental institution for depression and Borderline Personality Disorder when she was 18 (which is a true story). Although I think that anybody would enjoy this movie, it's special to me because I also suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder myself and it's nice to see a movie which handles the subject sensitively.Borderline Personality Disorder was a very controversial diagnosis in the 1960s (when this movie takes place), as even less was known about it than is now. Very little research was done into it back but the general diagnosis criteria and known sympoms were still the same:1. Extreme black and white thinking (unable to see the grey area).2. Unstable relationships characterised between feelings of idealation (love and adoration) and devaluation (anger and dislike).3. Impulsivity, usually in self-destructive areas (e.g. binge eating, alcohol abuse, reckless driving, excessive spending and building up debt).4. Mood swings between base (normal) mood, anxiety, irritability and depression.5. Suicides threats or attempts or self mutilation (cutting, punching etc)6. Irrational (to others) fear of abandonment and of being alone.7. Outbursts of anger.8. Shakey sence of self image - unsure about life goals, ambitions and belives such as what type of friends and lovers to have, carrer paths an sexual orientation.9. Chronic and persistant feelings of emptyness (also described as boredom or loneliness).The move is nicely paced and gets Susanna into the mental hospital within the first 10 or 15 minutes.The characters include Polly (a schizophrenic who purposely set herself on fire as a child); Janet (an anorexic); Geogina, Susanna's room-mate (a pathological liar) and Lisa (a sociopath). The characters are all amazing well fleshed out and acted. They have very real and brilliantly acted emotions and personalities and are very beliveable as real people.Susanna (Winona Ryder) and Lisa (Angelina Jolie) are particularly good in this movie.A stunning and moving story of Susanna's illness and recovery and the nature of people and of mental ilness. It does a wonderfull job of removing some of the stigma that people associate with mental illness.I would reccomend this movie in particular to people who are interested in mental illness or psychology or have such an ilness themselves (especially BPD) but also to anybody looking for a good movie. This is one of the best.

Ignore the critics - it's way too easy just to call Girl, Interrupted a 'Cuckoo's Nest with women'. The story and the atmosphere are both completely different.Girl, Interrupted is based on a true story about one young woman's stay inside a psychiatric hospital. Eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen is questionably diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and spends nearly two years on the ward for teenage girls - where she chooses to befriend her fellow inmates, a group of troubled young women.If you think all movies set in mental institutions are depressing, think again - Girl, Interrupted is often amusing and uplifting, as well as dark and haunting. It has a brilliant cast - Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave and Jared Leto, to name but a few, are all outstanding in this compelling drama. Ryder's portrayal of Susanna Kaysen has been called 'weak' by the critics, which is ridiculous. Her performance isn't exactly powerful, but it's one of her best performances to date. Admittedly, though, Jolie outshines Ryder in this movie - she deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal of fiesty sociopath Lisa Rowe, and anyone who saw 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' and then branded Jolie a 'terrible actress' should see this. Her performance alone is worth seeing this movie for - being an Angelina Jolie fan, you could accuse me of being biased, of course - but she is undeniably brilliant in this movie, bringing the screen to life with huge amounts of energy and emotion. Brittany Murphy is also superb in this movie, despite being slightly overlooked by the two lead characters.Overall, Girl, Interrupted is a moving, inspirational drama. It's one of my favourite movies of all time, with one of my favourite performances from one of my favourite actresses. I recommend watching the movie with the director's commentary at least once - it's interesting and will provide you with lots of little-known information about the movie.

* Basic outlineThe story is set in the early 1960s U.S.A. Suzanna (Ryder) has a potential suicide attempt and she is self - inducted into a female psychiatric ward for an unlimited time. Whilst there, she sees others who a much more disturbed than she feels she is. Whilst establishing her position, she sees a bawdy patient Lisa (Angelina Jolie) who is disruptive but knows the ropes of how to gain control. Whoopi Goldberg plays a nurse in this hospital. She is helpful to the patient's recovery but is subjected to racism from patients. Suzanna's parents are invited to contribute to the case, her mother is very concerned, but her father isn't. How long Suzanna stays depends on her response to her treatment plan, and this is whether she consents to take the meds as suggested by Lisa the trouble maker to avoid taking meds.* CommentsThe starkness and accuracy of the mentally ill patients' descriptions in the part of the ward is one reason why it's disturbing. The wide-ranging illnesses and how they have suffered is plainly explained. One character tried to immolate herself and others have food/abuse issues is disturbing. The length of time someone could be inside for the relatively crude treatment at this time is painful to accept. The story of why Lisa is initially making sense then it's clear she is very disturbed too is an engine to the story. The Dr. (Venessa Redgrave) is brilliantly put over even if it's for a small part of the film and is well-observed. This film is accurate and the medical staff is well-balanced. It's a public education film in the truest sense. Whoopie Goldberg is worth 60 M $, so she picked this movie because of the quality of the script and the players and their contributions.