By Julia Meza
“Girl Interrupted,” a 1999 melodrama film, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Produced by Colombus Pictures and directed by James Mangold, this movie was based on the best-selling memoir written by Susanna Kaysen. This movie features many talented actors, such as Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Jared Leto, and many more.
This film is based on the actual story of Susanna Kaysen's time spent in a 1960s psychiatric hospital. It features real illnesses such as borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder (sociopath), anorexia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more.
After being saved, eighteen-year-old Susanna checks herself into the hospital after attempting suicide at the beginning of the story. There, she encounters more unfamiliar people and challenges than she has ever encountered. Her family, who are comparatively well-off, spends most of their time worrying about their status and work.
With one incident after another, this film definitely keeps audiences on their toes. Susanna, convinced that she is "only here for a rest" and that she did not attempt suicide, has mixed feelings about being admitted. When she first arrives, she thinks everyone is crazy and wants to go.
It is compelling how Susanna's problems are gradually unraveled in the film, almost like a yarn ball that's been kicked around till it's a knotted mess. As the movie goes on, her behavior seems to become worse and worse. She changes from agitated and furious to reserved and apologetic like someone felt bad for the yarn ball and spent hours unraveling and neatly tying it back together. "Seeing death, actually seeing it, makes dreaming about it f-ing ridiculous," Susanna said after she experienced death firsthand, marking a turning point in her life and the beginning of her recovery. This quote can be very impactful and meaningful for a lot of viewers.
The difficulties of the other characters, such as Lisa and Daisy, are also given a lot of attention, in addition to Susanna's. Lisa, who suffers from anti-personality disorder, has been hospitalized for almost eight years due to her impulsive and domineering behavior. When you first encounter Lisa, she is being brought back by the police for another attempt at escape. Daisy, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, enjoys discussing her father and her impending discharge.
Another fascinating factor of this movie is the complicated relationship between Susanna and Lisa. In the biggest parts of the movie, they seem to loathe each other but they continuously have these little moments together throughout the film. Before you know it, they are escaping together and even share a kiss.
In fact, Susanna and Lisa are both in one of the most interesting scenes in the film. Susanna and Lisa chose to serenade Polly from outside the door after she was placed in isolation after having a breakdown over her scarred face. However, the consequences of this action resulted in lots of troubling events. The juxtaposition of the action's purity followed by pure chaos is truly compelling.
After getting into a lot of trouble, Susanna fled with Lisa, discovered Daisy's body after she had committed suicide in her apartment, was readmitted, and eventually began to recover. The fact that a particularly touching and compassionate scene proved to be the turning point in the entire film was unexpected and made the events that followed that much more surprising.
Overall, this film is truly incredible, and everyone involved did an amazing job bringing the true story of Susanna Kaysen to the big screen. The complex issues of mental illness and the relationship between all of the patients and their complicated roles in Susanna's life make this movie a must-see, and I personally highly recommend it.
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