IMDb > Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Girl, Interrupted
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Girl, Interrupted (1999) More at IMDbPro »

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Girl, Interrupted -- Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.
Girl, Interrupted -- Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.
Girl, Interrupted -- Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.
Girl, Interrupted -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   45,205 votes »
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Down 11% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Susanna Kaysen (book)
James Mangold (screenplay) and
Lisa Loomer (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Girl, Interrupted on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 January 2000 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
Based on a true story See more »
Plot:
Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(62 articles)
Brittany Murphy RIP
 (From EmpireOnline. 20 December 2009, 12:30 PM, PST)

Ryder: 'I Wasn't Jealous Of Jolie's Oscar Win'
 (From WENN. 25 October 2009, 6:26 PM, PDT)

Voight: 'Winslet Deserved To Win'
 (From WENN. 23 February 2009, 4:06 AM, PST)

User Reviews:
Incredible performances and an enormously involving narrative. ***1/2 (out of four) See more (359 total) »


Additional Details

Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated R for strong language and content relating to drugs, sexuality and suicide.
Runtime:
127 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Singapore:PG (cut) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | USA:R (certificate #36459) | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | New Zealand:M | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
(26 March 2000) Angelina Jolie's attendance at the Academy Awards was not her first. At just 10-years-old, she sat beside dad Jon Voight when he was up for the Best Actor Oscar for Runaway Train (1985). (Voight lost to William Hurt for Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)) (24 March 1986).See more »
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The story shows the draft lottery taking place before Martin Luther King is assassinated. King was assassinated in 1968, and the first draft lottery was in December, 1969.See more »
Quotes:
Daisy:My father loves me.
Lisa:I bet. With every inch of his manhood.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
DowntownSee more »

FAQ

Is the entire film based on real events and facts?
Were all of the girls in the film friends and did they remain friendly?
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30 out of 39 people found the following review useful.
Incredible performances and an enormously involving narrative. ***1/2 (out of four), 22 June 2001

GIRL, INTERRUPTED / (1999) ***1/2 (out of four)

By Blake French:

"Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted."

Those are some of the most memorable lines from James Mangold's honest, heartfelt drama "Girl Interrupted." The speaker is Susanna Kaysen, played by Winona Ryder. The film is based on the memoir of Kaysen herself, re-encountering the experiences she actually spent in a mental institution after an attempted suicide. The book of the same name was published in 1993; it spent time on almost every best-seller list, including 11 weeks on the New York Times.

It was in the 1980's when Kaysen began to revisit the most formative time in her life-20 years after the actual hospitalization. Memories of a nearly two-year stay at McLean Psychiatric Hospital, a private and exclusive institution near Cambridge, resurfaced while constructing her second book. She began writing vignettes of her experiences in the hospital, writing short stories about a time in her life she had not discussed for two decades.

"The only thing that ever made me less loony was writing," remembers Cambridge, Massachusetts-based writer Susanna Kaysen, author of her memoir, "Girl, Interrupted." Set in the turbulent 60's, the film details the young Kaysen, who finds herself at a mental institution for disturbed young women. Susanna makes friends, including a seductive and dangerous regular named Lisa (Angelina Jolie).

I have never read this book, but after watching "Girl, Interrupted" I am seriously considering it. The film is a powerful exploration into a depressing, bleak situation. When this movie was released theatrically in late 1999, I wondered how many people would want to see something about a young writer who tries to kill herself and then spends time in a nut-house. However, I was wrong to presume anything. "Girl, Interrupted" contains a vivid, convincing world for its characters, but never do we feel awkward while watching this film, but involved and concerned.

Screen-adapters James Mangold, Lisa Loomer, and Anna Hamilton Phelan construct a central character that is both consistent and empathetic. As the movie opens, we never see Kaysen's suicide attempt-there is no need to show it. This is a film about the results, not the action. We gradually learn about Kaysen as the movie progresses, thus the lack of initial character development. Even with little introductory material to establish her character, Winona Ryder creates a soothing, intriguing sole for Kaysen. The audience cares about Susanna before we even understand why she was sent to the mental institution.

The film's supporting cast, including Jared Leto, Clea Duvall, Elizabeth Moss, Jeffrey Tambor, Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, and Angelina Jolie, who won an Academy Award for her performance, actually develops the mood of the film-an essential aspect of its overall impact. James Mangold ("Copland") has a ambiguous style here, but it works extraordinarily well in this film. "Girl, Interrupted" should do wonders for Susanna Kaysen's book; after watching the film, it is hard not to want to read the memoir.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
What exactly was wrong with Lisa? CarJax
The reason Brittany was not nominated!!! loves_it_gorgeous
Winona deserved an Oscar! herogirl63
Therapy for a Sociopath... ATBliss
The institution + Daisy's Father... bellslena
The real Lisa marc2458
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