Delayed Reaction: Girl, Interrupted

Premise: A girl checks into a mental hospital in the 1960s and figures out that it's not a great place.

 

Let's be honest. This is the "Angelina Jolie won an Oscar" movie. There isn't much else to remember about it. The only other second life I've found for it is as a "Really, ____ was in this?" movie. It has a ton of people in it. People who don't feel like they are all of the same generation. Winona Rider, Angelina Jolie, Clea Duvall, Brittany Murphy, Jared Leto, and Elisabeth Moss all had much different heydays. And there's comedic actors like Whoopi Goldberg and Jeffrey Tambor going serious. In my mind, I realized I'd lumped this movie in with Gia, because, even though I know Angelina was the Supporting Actress winner, I expected her to be the lead of this movie. I got over it quick though.

 

This movie is...fine. It's sort of Winona Ryder's last moment as a star. She had a great 90s, and was about to hit the point where her characters would be women instead of young women. I don't mean she was moving into "mom role" territory. It was the end of her "young woman getting ready to take on the world" roles. No more student or recent graduate roles for her. After this, her career went sideways for a while. Other than Mr. Deeds, she spent most of the next decade lost in the woods. It really wasn't until she moved to TV with Show Me a Hero, The Plot Against America, and of course Stranger Things that she got her mojo back.

 

Angelina Jolie's career has been odd after this movie. She's excellent in this movie, but she's never quite matched the promise of this role. Almost immediately after this, she turned into the biggest star in the world with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Other than a stray nomination for Changeling (which she was never going to win), she's struggled to be invited back to the Oscars. Every few years, she comes around with a movie to remind us that she could be the world's biggest star whenever she wants (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Salt, Maleficent). I sometimes wonder what her career would look like if she didn't have a family or other interests. But yeah, in 1999 it would've surprised me if you told me Girl, Interrupted would be her one real shot at an Oscar.

I'm not a huge fan of this type of movie. I just don't find treatment centers that interesting. I don't revere One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as highly as others. Awakenings is pretty dull. I guess once the shock of "these places really aren't that pleasant" wears off, I'm bored by the struggle. Some people are worse off than others. Some people are more willing to accept their issues than others. There are the good people who work there and the bad ones. I think this movie was well done and all. It amped up the drama a little more than needed. The performances were really good though.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend