Warning: Girl, Interrupted talks about a lot of heavy topics related to mental health, abuse, body image, and depictions of death. If anything like this is triggering to you please do not read further, or at least read with caution. I try not to use heavy imagery and potentially triggering vocabulary but the story is about a group of teenage girls at a psychiatric hospital during the late 1960’s, so it’s bound for some of the analysis to reveal triggering information. Read with caution please!
Girl, Interrupted (James Mangold, 1999, USA) healed something inside of me that I never thought needed healing. Although there are some things I find questionable to say the least, it’s a good story that depicts depressed teenagers in a more realistic way. Their lives mirrored my own, although I wasn’t admitted into a hospital (but maybe I should’ve been). Between my friends and I, at least one of us had experienced depression, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, poor body image, or even racism. However, Girl, Interrupted doesn’t dramatize or glamourize these afflictions like shows such as 13 Reasons Why (Brian Yorkey, 2017, USA). The story plays into itself, giving it life, making the audience decipher its meaning, and truly feel like you’re in the hospital with them. Between the astounding storytelling of the crew (because fuck was costume design amazing) and the performances of the cast, this movie is a beautiful love story to my younger self.
Based on the Girl, Interrupted memoir, published in 1993 by Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted follows Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), a high school graduate who wants to do nothing else but become an author. After being sent to a psychiatrist by her parents, she admits herself into McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital where she is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Here, she meets a group of young women who all have their own reasons for being admitted into the hospital, such as Susanna’s worst enemy, Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie), diagnosed as a Sociopath. There’s also Susanna’s roommate, Georgina, who’s been diagnosed with Pseudologia Fantastica (also known as Pathological Lying). Following an enemies-to-lovers trope, Susanna and Lisa become close (maybe a little too close) as Susanna starts to adopt some of Lisa’s unfriendly behaviors. Susanna’s depencacy on Lisa starts to affect her mental health and she falls into a deep depression. She doesn’t realize how hard she’s fallen for Lisa, until it’s too late. Given a second chance, she changes her behaviors, accepts therapy, starts taking her medication, and overall seems a lot happier. In the end, Susanna leaves the hospital happier and eager to start her life as a writer.
At the beginning of the story, Susanna goes on about her lack of a grasp on time. The creators do an amazing job of creating these lapses of time, jumping back and forth between present, past, and future, making us, the audience, as disoriented as Susanna is. Sadly, the amazing use of imagery and creativity fall short and are ultimately abandoned as the story progresses. I would’ve loved for there to have been some sort of explanation of why the time jumps stop and she gets a grasp on life, but we never do. We can only assume that as she starts to integrate into her relationship with Lisa and the rest of the girls, time seems to slow down and become more normalized.
Although this movie had some pretty graphic and triggering images, I wasn’t triggered or felt awkward about my past – or most of the time annoyed because filmmakers tend to make mental health so “elegant.” Images and triggering vocabulary were used to further the story, gain a sense of the character, and create more overall tension. One scene that does this tremendously well is when Lisa and Susanna arrive at Daisy’s (Brittany Murphy) new apartment after they’ve snuck out of the hospital. Lisa walks around the house poking fun at Daisy’s new life; she looks in the fridge and complains about her only having chicken and mustard, or how there’s no tub in the downstairs bathroom, then goes and on about how Daisy isn’t “cured” and she “loves to spend Daddy’s money.” Before we or Susanna realize how bad Lisa is egging Daisy on, she explicitly tells us why she’s in the hospital in the first place; and it’s a lot bigger than rotisserie chickens under her bed. The tension rises between the two until Daisy runs upstairs and Susanna stomps into the bathroom, embarrassed of how Lisa is acting and unsure of what to say to confront Daisy.
Codependency shows its true colors in this film. The relationship between Lisa and Susanna is toxic to say the least. The first time the two meet, Lisa’s old bestie has just committed suicide, probably right in the very room Susanna has been assigned to. However, Lisa’s cool, sexy, and flirtatious personality easily hooks Susanna and she too becomes one of her minions (Angelina Jolie is so extremely sexy throughout this film, the temptation is understandable). There are points in the story when it’s hard to decipher if Susanna wants to be Lisa or to date her, but the writers make it incredibly known that these girls are straight. (Minus the one character who is out. Well, honestly, she might not be out but they call her a “dyke” and she doesn’t deny it..) Although, I don’t think it’s possible for there to be a bunch of mentally ill girls stuck together with nothing else to do but sit around, watch tv, and talk to each other, to not have some type of romantic relationship…but who am I to say…
I have so much appreciation for this piece, but there are some questionable situations throughout the story. The concept of “curing” mental illnesses is what bothered me the most. Susanna admitted to her “disease,” started actively participating in her therapy, and eventually “graduated” out of the hospital. Personally, I don’t think there’s a way to “cure” mental illness, but one can definitely become happier, get healthier, and ultimately find a reason to continue to live. However, the creators portray the hospital and mental illnesses as “go to therapy, take your medicine, admit to your faults and all will be cured.” It’s harmful to think this way, because that’s not always the case. There will be times when there’s a relapse, or some feelings come back up that were once nowhere to be seen; it’s in those moments when we have to remember those tips and tricks we learned to help us through those tough times. Dealing with mental illness isn’t a one-and-done kind of deal, it’s something we each have to keep working at; and hopefully it’ll get a little easier with each time.
Overall, Girl, Interrupted is a well represented story of young women who are battling with mental illnesses. Despite some faults, the story of Susanna Kaysen represents mine as well. Stories like these can be hard to sit through, especially if you can relate to it, but it also offers closure to a past life.
If you’re looking for something similar to Girl, Interrupted look into these:
- Skins (British Tv Show, 2007): A little more light-hearted but still talks about a lot of heavy topics.
- Thirteen (Catherine Hardwicke, 2003, USA): I haven’t watched it in so long but I remember when I was 13, my mom got mad at me for watching it so I think that says a lot.
- We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2021, USA): I feel like everyone has seen this and I wouldn’t necessarily say this falls under the same category as Girl, Interrupted. But, it’s a good movie about a fucked up kid, like the rest.
check out my quick review here!!
