Girl, Interrupted

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 ><NOBR><div> Claymoore Mental Intuition should be clay mined</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ROWS" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Susanna: Winona Ryder </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Lisa: Angelina Jolie </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Georgina: Clea Duvall </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Daisy: Brittany Murphy </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Dr. Wick: Vanessa Redgrave </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Valerie: Whoopi Goldberg </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Director: James Mangold</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div>  </div> <div>  <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: After graduating from high school, a young woman commits herself to a psychiatric institution after she tries to commit suicide. <I>She's </I>not crazy but many of the people there are indeed disturbed. She attempts to find herself through her collective experience and the other girls at the institution.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Susanna (Winona Ryder) is unsure of her direction after high school, while most of her peers are heading off to prestigious colleges. She sleeps around, and is frustrated with the phony life style of her parents, whose main concern for her seems to be that she is a show trophy at their gala Christmas party.  They define the phrase "country club set."</div> <bR> <div> Susanna's big move is to take a bottle of aspirin, chased with a bottle of vodka. The suicide attempt fails. When recommended to Claymoore, an upscale psychiatric facility, she (not her parents) signs the consent forms because she is 18 years old. She soon meets Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) who treats her with the detachment you feel when you swat a fly. </div> <bR> <div> Georgina (Clea Duvall) is Susanna's  roommate, and it's about this time that she realizes that many of the people at Claymoore are deeply disturbed. Daisy (Brittany Murphy) is about to be released yet it's clear that she still needs help. When referring to the apartment her father is providing for her, Daisy calls the kitchen the chicken. No one bothers to correct her, as in addition to their mental issues, they all are on pills of one sort or another and in some sort of haze. It's as if everyone has been given a double dose of Prozac and they are in a very mellow state of mind.</div> <bR> <div> Lisa (Angelina Jolie) has been in and out of Claymoore it appears more because of escapes, rather than rehospitalization. Lisa is the resident patient leader and primary jokester to the staff and her peers. By using Lisa as a basis of comparison, it's very clear to nurse Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) that Susanna does not belong here. However, once one is declared to have a mental illness, a change in behavior must occur to be declared "cured". You may be able to sign yourself in but you can't just sign yourself out.</div> <bR> <div> The relative sanity of Daisy, Lisa  and Susanna is brought into focus when Lisa and Susanna escape from Claymoore and pay Daisy a visit. This visit marks the turning point for each of the three young women. Susanna is able to make progress more from seeing how defective Lisa is than from any treatment from the professionals, other than Valerie who tells her, "Do not drop anchor here." </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: <I>Girl, Interrupted</I> starts on a solid foundation by probing the issues of young adults with mental illness and/or being confused about the world. Even though Claymoore is not your <I>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's</I> <I>Nest</I> type of an institution, even the "country clubs" for the mentally ill are not pleasant places to reside.</div> <bR> <div> Although based upon a true story, the Hollywood scriptwriters wanted to throw softball rather than a hard one at the subject matter. Early in the film, we see a lawn poster supporting Robert Kennedy for President which time stamps the film as 1968. Shortly after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed on April 4<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >th</FONT>, as related on a TV news broadcast. In the real world this got folks' attention on its own, but coupled with the assassination of Robert Kennedy less than 60 days later, that <I>did</I> depress many people. They were indeed concerned for the direction of the country and looked at many authority figures with disdain. Pile this on top of the bodies piling up due to the  Viet Nam war, which is obliquely touched on as Susanna's boy friend is subject to be drafted, add uncaring parents, and one could feel as if they <I>were </I>crazy. While the time frame of the film clearly encompasses the killing of King, it leaves out Robert Kennedy. </div> <bR> <div> The staff at Claymoore is beyond inept. While the doors are locked and bars are on the windows, the girls can escape almost at will it seems, solely for the convenience of the film. When Susanna's boyfriend comes to visit, he is allowed to be alone with her in her room, which in no way would happen. They are given permission to go outside, which would also allow her a chance to escape. When the story has a chance to dig deeper into why the girls are hospitalized and what needs to be done to get out, it falls flat. The laziness of the staff provides the girls with a way into Dr. Wick's office, who conveniently has their files sitting on top of her desk. Face to face, these young women are never allowed to articulate their illnesses, but their files lay it out in clinical terms that are to the point. This covert visit to the doctor's office permits them to see themselves as others do. </div> <bR> <div> The acting performances are quite good, especially by Ryder, Murphy, and Jolie. Had the screenwriters provided more insight into what really causes people to be committed and how they can be helped and released, this script could have risen above mediocrity. Watching <I>Girl, Interrupted</I> is like walking in the front door of Claymoore and then right out the back door. Little or no impression is made and you don't learn anything of consequence. </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> R(sex; drug use; suicide; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 1999</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="670" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ROWS" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Winona Ryder: <I>Being John Malkovich</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="370"><div> Angelina Jolie: <I>The Bone Collector</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Clea Duvall: <I>The Astronaut's Wife</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="370"><div> Brittany Murphy: <I>Clueless</I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Vanessa Redgrave: <I>Cradle Will Rock</I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Whoppi Goldberg: <I>How Stella Got Her Groove Back</I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="293"><div> James Mangold: <I>Copland</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="370"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="370" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="524" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="518"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="518" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>