Reflections on the film Girl, Interrupted

¶ … Girl, Interrupted (1999) is a film by James Mangold based on the eponymous 1993 memoir by Susanna Kaysen. The film recounts Kaysen's experiences in a mental institution during the late 1960s. The film stars Winona Ryder as Susanna Kaysen, Angelina Jolie as Lisa Rowe -- a role for which she won an Academy Award -- Brittany Murphy as Daisy Randone, Clea DuVall as Georgina Tuskin, and Elizabeth Moss as Polly "Torch" Clark, all of whom portray patients at the Claymoore Hospital during Kaysen's her institutionalization. Through the film's mise-en-scene, point-of-view, and narrative, Mangold is able to create a dramatic, yet sympathetic, portrayal of not only Kaysen's experiences, but also of the mental health system during this time.

Through the film's composition, costuming, and setting, Kaysen's experiences at Claymoore Hospital are made more realistic. The film does not use crisp, saturated colors, but rather relies on muted, washed out colors that help to emphasize the mood of the mental institution. The use of these muted colors works well because it helps the audience to understand that the hospital was a depressing place for Kaysen. Additionally, the fact that film was shot at the Harrisburg State Hospital in Pennsylvania imbues the film with realism because it allows the audience to see how confining, yet simultaneously devoid of privacy, a mental institution was and is (IMDB, n.d.).

The film's point-of-view also helps to provide a realistic interpretation of Kaysen's experiences during her institutionalization. By presenting the narrative from Kaysen's point-of-view, the audience is able to better understand the struggle Kaysen had with coming to terms with her illness and her rehabilitation. Furthermore, because of Kaysen's constant contact and interaction with other mental patients, and through her behavioral changes that resulted as a consequence thereof, the audience can see how Kaysen's life was impacted during her treatment. However, the film's impact, and Kaysen's rehabilitation, is somewhat diminished by the fact that she does is not shown fixing her relationships with the other girls and her departure from the hospital appears abrupt even though it is known in advance that she is going to be leaving on a set date. While Ryder's interpretation of Kaysen seems self-centered, Jolie's interpretation of Lisa Rowe steals the narrative's focus, for the better. Jolie/Rowe does not care about how the world or audience sees her, but rather appears to fit right in the hospital's realm. Moreover, because of Jolie's method acting -- refusing to interact with Ryder outside the scope of filming -- the audience is better able to understand the alienation, self-imposed or otherwise, Kaysen experienced.

One of the most interesting aspects of Girl, Interrupted (1999) was not the drama between characters, their relationships, or interactions, but how mental illness was classified during this time. While it is understandable that the majority of the patients depicted in the film suffer from a mental disorder -- sociopathy, anorexia, OCD, bulimia, and pathological lying -- it is appalling to see that homosexuality, as in the case of Cynthia Crowley, played by Jillian Armenante, was also considered to be a mental disorder. Also disturbing was the high use of medication in the film. Whether a patient needed it or not, they were seemingly always forced to take pills, as was seen when Kaysen was prescribed Colace (Girl, Interrupted, 1999).