Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted (Drama, 1999). Starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Clea Duvall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Jeffery Tambor, Vanessa Redgrave and Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by James Mangold.

Based on the true story of Susanna Kaysen (Ryder), a young woman who ends up in a mental institution in the 1960s. Locked up with a kooky cast of crazies, including the alluring Lisa (Jolie), Kaysen begins to explore the line between sanity and insanity.

She is led on her search by Lisa, who is sexy, exciting and bonkers, to use a nontechnical term. Kaysen must finally choose between the institution and the real world, a choice, one would think, that would be quite easy.

Jolie, who is the daughter of Jon Voight, is frenetic and seductive in her Academy Award-winning performance (wouldn't you just love to be her brother?), outshining and overpowering Ryder, who is so mousy she sometimes seems to not even be there.

While watching Jolie run around screaming is certainly entertaining, she cannot save this film by herself. In the end, this is a plodding movie that leaves viewers rooting for lobotomies for everyone just to get it over with. (David Eyerly)