Girl, Interrupted (1999): Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s. (7.1)
Director: James Mangold
Writers: Susanna Kaysen (book)
Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie and Whoopi Goldberg
Going into this, I thought this was going to be more of a lighthearted look at shenanigans in a mental institution. It certainly wasn't. It tackles a couple of serious subjects and one of them speaks to me loudly and clearly. The characters played by Ms Ryder and Ms Jolie are polar opposites, yet they both give commanding performances. Winona Ryder's character is quite low-key and playing it as such and yet giving off emotions of a patient trapped in that situation is quite difficult. Angelina Jolie is brilliant, then again, that's the character with the spot-light on; so in that light the primary character (Ryder)'s performance is realistic and on-the-mark. Melancholy, but not a downer if you want to see the reality (after all it is based on the writer's own experiences) depicted as is. My Rating: 7.5
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