Rating: 
Summary: Ryder and Jolie a good pair
Review: Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie worked well together in this movie. Both bring forth the energy of their parts. I did feel that there was some room for improvement in the story itself but overall it is worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: This movie goes deeper than you think.
Review: Hello The first time that I saw Girl Interrupted, I had rented it I wanted to see it beacuse of the reviews it got and I also wanted to see how "wonderful" of a performance Angelina Jolie gave. So heres my verdict. This movie is powerful as well as smart and even at times hillarius. Winona Ryder gives an as usual great performance, as one of the two lead charecters Susanna. Her passion for acting truly shows in this film. Susanna is somewhat quiet and shy. In contrast Angelina's charecter Lisa is the comlete oppisite. You almost have to admire Lisa fir her power to say whatever she wants to say and have not a fear to say it. I Highly suggest that you buy this or even rent it because there are things in this movie that we can all relate to, in someways this movie made me look at myself instead of others, it teaches the lesson that we all in someways have a crazy side.
Rating:
Summary: One of the better movies coming to VHS.
Review: Girl Interrupted is about a girl who commits herself to thecare of a psychiatric ward, because she is suicidal and wants to feel better. But she brings an attitude with her. As a result, she makes no progress. Events in the movie somehow serve to change her attitude. Once she flicks off the chip on her shoulder and begins relating honestly and openly to the doctors, she improves quickly. Once this happens, the movie is basically over. I really didn't feel her metamorphosis. A good movie would have let me participate in it. The script told her to change her attitude, so she did. The movie gave us a few reasons why she might, and they thought that was enough. In any event, the movie is pretty good but not great. (...) This one is worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: The cast makes it
Review: Yes, the movie (based more or less on Susanna Kaysen's memoir, with a few clumsy additions) covers familiar territory. Yes, James Mangold will never be mistaken for a great visual stylist -- he falls under the heading "Works Well With Actors." Yet the film manages to avoid a great number of pitfalls, and it works extraordinarily well as a group portrait and as a chance for a cast of gifted young actresses to sink their teeth into roles that go beyond girlfriend-of-the-hero. Angelina Jolie was virtually guaranteed the Oscar, since she's essentially playing the Jack Nicholson role, the wild child who stirs things up. But don't overlook her castmates, especially Brittany Murphy and Clea DuVall, as well as Winona Ryder in a generous performance that allows her co-stars to shine. Ryder may be top-billed and a producer on the film, but she understands that her character is basically a reactive element, not an active one; she is the audience's surrogate, a relatively normal person spending some time with emotionally disturbed girls who today might be considered merely difficult -- the movie is set in the late '60s, and we recognize the double standard that boys who acted out were just being boys, whereas girls who acted out were wacko. Mangold, who made a somewhat shaky debut with the dramatically inert "Heavy" and followed it with the powerful if incoherent "Cop Land" (which I suspect suffered from severe pre-release trimming), is shaping up as a director to watch; this movie represents a leap forward from his previous efforts, and it'll be interesting to see what he does next.
Rating: 
Summary: flawed but rewarding psychological drama
Review: The formula for `Girl, Interrupted' is to take the basic setting and plot situation of `One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest,' strip them of their high-falutin' melodramatic elements and present a somewhat more realistic image of insanity hidden behind the walls of a mental institution. The risk in such a move is that the film will, also, strip away much of the drama as well. `Girl, Interrupted' takes the risk and, perhaps predictably, is not a completely satisfying effort as a result. Long stretches of the film turn into drawn out gabfests in which the girls housed in this Massachusetts institution talk out their issues at frequently excessive length. However, thanks to strong performances by an impressive cast of highly talented young actresses, as well as a script filled with occasionally sharp insights into the complexities of mental illness, the film ultimately yields a moving and rewarding cinematic experience for those with the patience to see it through to the end. The film is based on the true-life story of Susanna Kaysen, a young woman who, like many young people in the turbulent 1960's, felt disoriented in the face of great social upheaval and the redefining of traditional roles and came to question her own place in society as a result. For a fumbled attempt at suicide, Susanna was ultimately consigned to a yearlong stay at a New England psychiatric hospital. It is her experiences there - and the relationships she forged with other women in her ward - that form the backbone of the film. Several elements serve to undercut some of the credibility of the film. As overseen by an ever-sympathetic head nurse (Whoopi Goldberg), this ward seems woefully lax in its standards of both discipline and security. The girls seem to run freely and wildly through the corridors at all times, popping in and out of each other's rooms, talking disrespectfully to the staff on hand, entertaining strange young men in their rooms under direct gaze of the people who work there and even bolting from the place entirely with astonishing frequency. Moreover, the girls certainly do not seem to be kept very busy with either chores or therapy sessions and, as a result, we often wonder what exactly the therapeutic modus operandi of this hospital is. In a weak echo of `Cuckoo's Nest,' the girls are taken out into a public setting - an ice cream parlor - with predictably disastrous results. Even worse in that scene is the confrontation that occurs between Susanna and a friend of her parents who it seems has wised up to the fact that Susanna and her husband once had a sexual fling. The incredibility is not in the confrontation per se, but in the fact that this mother would make such an embarrassingly public scene right in front of her own understandably chagrined daughter. On the whole, however, the film sports enough virtues of performances and writing to triumph over its flaws. Winona Ryder, in what might well be her finest performance to date, conveys the combination of melancholic wistfulness and hard-edged cynicism essential to her essentially decent but deeply troubled character. Neither the writers, Lisa Loomer and Anna Hamilton Phelan, nor writer/director James Mangold ever allow us to bank on the extent of Susanna's madness. Since she herself is never quite sure whether she is truly insane or just deeply depressed and emotionally confused, we are never given the opportunity to peg her with a pat diagnosis either. The same goes for her fellow inmates, particularly Lisa, stunningly portrayed by Angelina Jolie, whose often-lethal combination of beguiling charm and cold-blooded ruthlessness, keeps us as off balance as it does Susanna. Certainly, mental illness is one of the most difficult conditions to render credible on the screen. The risks lie in either overstating the mannerisms and actions into seeming absurdity or of providing resolutions that ring hollow in their upbeat simplicity. `Girl, Interrupted' falls into both traps occasionally, but the fact that it is a work culled from a real person's personal experiences makes us more prone to accept it at face value. At times the girls seem too facile in their respective natures - one is a pathological liar, one a repressed lesbian, one a deceitful sociopath, one a self-deluded incest victim etc. - yet each character also contains her personal element of truth and validity. Only Whoopi Goldberg's anti-Nurse Ratched character rings untrue. Perhaps Goldberg has simply gone once too often to this particular well - that of the overly sympathetic authority figure dripping heartfelt sincerity all over the miserable and the hurting. As an actress, she has long ago lost her edge. Still, for all its weaknesses, `Girl, Interrupted' emerges as a genuinely poignant and moving study of a group of hurting individuals groping towards each other for hope and understanding. For all the voices of reason shouting at us to question its authenticity, we find ourselves wanting desperately to believe in this unusual and thought-provoking tale
Rating: 
Summary: A World of Questions and Emotion
Review: As a child, do you remember that first time being deeply depressed? Do you remember finally finding a friend that seemed to understand, seemed to truly connect with your hurt and frustration? "Girl, Interrupted" rekindled those feelings in me. Not so much because of present personal depression, but because it painted the world of questions and emotion so vividly and, ultimately, so hopefully. Whereas, many artsy films like to wallow in angst and anger, "Girl,Interrupted" makes the clear point that those issues can be set aside, overcome, that they can be a mere interruption in the overall picture of life. Suzanna Kaysen is a troubled high-school graduate with the sole aspiration to become a writer--"But what are you going to do?" her counselor asks. When she succumbs to the angst of the Sixties, she finds herself in the hospital with a belly full of pills and alcohol, and her parents decide she needs help, though Kaysen insists she was only trying to get rid of a headache. Soon, Kaysen is signing herself into a mental hospital, unaware that she is powerless to sign herself back out. As she befriends those around her, she begins to question her own sanity and finds herself in trouble. She wants freedom, but she wants the depth of friendship she's found. Friendships lead her closer to insanity's brink, and only when she finds the strength to be herself and be honest, does she find the true security of deep friendship. Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie dominate this film with their powerful, subtly-nuanced performances. Ryder portrays her conflicting emotions with every twitch of her face, every angle of her posture, and Jolie is a magnetic force, drawing us in to her side, setting us up for betrayal and--finally--hope again. Despite my general aversion to Whoopi Goldberg films, Whoopi plays her role with tender strength and under-acted power. Despite some of the mental ward's despicable practices of it's era, the staff are depicted with depth and understanding. "Girl, Interrupted" addresses the crazy feelings so many of us struggle with at some point, and makes the strong statement that these struggles can be overcome, that sanity is within reach, that life is worth living honestly and deeply. Yes, you might interrupt it--but don't end it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Cast, Intriguing Story
Review: Angelina Jolie won an Oscar for her role in this film, but the real star was Wynona Rider, who cemented her claim as one of the best actresses Hollywood has to offer. The film is worthwhile simply for the performances, but the story works well enough as well. While the "crazy" roles were somewhat cliche, especially as compared with "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the story behind Susanna kept me fascinated throughout the film. Much like "The Talented Mr. Ripley," this is a character study. We watch her multiple transformations take place in the context of the story, but the story is just there to make her that much more interesting. This is a film I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: A true accomplishment
Review: A fantastic movie based on an incredible book. The actor's performances are nearly flawless. Winona Ryder has not shown so much depth in her work since the early nineties. Never has her "doe like" appearance worked so well for her. The range of emotions that she conveys without uttering a single sound is heartstopping. Maybe she can finally move on from the embarrassment that was Alien Resurrection. It is a shame that her performance has been overshadowed by the dynamic presence of Angelina Jolie. Once again, Jolie proves why she has been called one of the finest young actresses of her generation. She truly paints an amazing portrait of a charming sociopath. In Girl Interrupted, both Ryder and Jolie play to their strengths as actresses and the end result is pure dynamite. The movies supporting actors also deserve to be singled out. Whoopie Goldberg has never lived up to the potential that she showed in The Color Purple (Corrina, Corrina anyone?) But with this role she may be able to find her way back from such fiascos as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The cast of young actresses assembled in this movie is unbelievable. It is a sure bet that Denise Richards was never sent a copy of this script. Clea DuVall, Elizabeth Moss, and Brittany Murphy each turn in heartbreaking performances. You can feel each characters sadness and desperation radiate off of the screen. While the movie does not end on the usual upbeat Hollywood note, it doesn't end on a bleak, depressing, British cinema note either. You are left with a sense of hope among the emotional rubble. The movie is not the greatest ever put to film, but it is one that all those involved should be extremely proud of. This movie is a definite don't miss.
Rating:
Summary: I liked this movie
Review: I liked, this good actresses who, played in this, I never read the book I will when I get time but I liked this worth watching......
Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: This movie is my favorite movie. I don't see why people can say that this movie is not amazing. Jolie and Winona do an awesome job of acting- and so does everyone else in it. The whole movie has a really cool feeling to it and the scenes jump around a lot which makes the movie insane. The DVD is really good because of the deleted scenes which are almost better than some of the scenes in the movie- why they were cut I don't know. Anyway -watch this movie -it is worth it.
| 
