Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Girl, Interrupted Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 8, 2021

Girl, Interrupted wants to be heavy on purpose but it's instead light on substance. The film is based on Susanna Kaysen's book which was a recount of her time in a mental hospital in the mid-1960s. The film follows Kaysen, played by Winona Ryder (Heathers, Little Women), and her time in the facility, exploring her own psyche and her experiences born of her emotional state, both the state in which she entered the hospital and that which came to be as a consequence of her time in the hospital and around the other patients. There's ample opportunity for engaging storytelling and rich narrative subtext but neither really makes an appearance during the film; it ultimately succumbs to burdens of excess length and its own quasi-unfocused and meandering perspective though it does benefit from a handful fine performances.

At her doctor's urging and with her parents' blessing, Susanna Kaysen (Ryder), at the age of 18, voluntarily checks herself into Claymoore psychiatric hospital. Susanna has shown a proclivity for promiscuity as well as mental breaks and, most recently, an overdose on aspirin which she claims was only in response to a headache. Upon arriving at the hospital, she meets a peculiar bunch of patients, including a burn victim (Elisabeth Moss), a victim of sexual abuse who also abuses laxative drugs (Brittany Murphy), and her roommate who cannot stop herself from lying (Clea DuVall). She also meets Lisa (Angelina Jolie), a controlling and manipulative, but curiously alluring, patient who has been in the hospital for much of her life. The story follows Susanna's own journey of discovery and recovery from a psychological condition known as "Borderline Personality Disorder" while also questioning the sanity, or insanity, of both her new friends as well as the psychiatric hospital system at-large.

The film seems to command respect from the beginning and promises a complex story of frail psyches and the realities of treatment in the 1960s. The film introduces a number if disparate, and disturbed, personalities that populate the frame around Susanna but ultimately amount to little more than window dressing. Certainly the film must, by the format's structure, pick and choose when and how and why to accentuate characters or personalities or scenes but one cannot help but feel that the experience is diminished for lack of a more flavorfully in-depth exploration of the support characters who may not completely define Susanna's time at the hospital but who do shape it with some significance. As it is the picture never reaches to a compelling plane. It hits some high points for character development and plot advancement but perhaps, it could be said, there's an intentionally flimsy, uncertain approach meant to better draw the audience into the familiar, yet always somehow off-kilter, world into which Susanna is introduced, experiences, lives, and changes through the course of the film.

If there is a saving grace it's how well the acting elevates the content above its means. The performances find a richness and depth to the characters even if most of them are constrained in some form or fashion to their own peculiarities and proclivities and what is often a flat, one-shot arc. That Jolie and Ryder are capable of bringing three-dimensional life to characters who are, as scripted, not quite so rounded as a movie requires is a testament to their acting abilities and the innate possibilities for excellence in the larger script. The film is often only a step or two away from greatness but as it's written there's too little room to move beyond the external and truly wrestle with the depth that lingers beyond whatever these characters, and the others, project. Jolie and Ryder are often a pleasure to watch, the former in particular for the management of the cool and commanding external persona and the screaming that is plainly taking place right below the surface. Ryder's characters is more complex, teetering on the fringes of sane and insane. She does a fine job of toeing that line but never quite sells it so well as the part would demand to elevate the film to its true potential.

Girl, Interrupted Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony's Blu-ray release of Girl, Interrupted largely follows in the footsteps of the studio's consistently excellent Blu-ray output. The image holds to its natural filmic state, displaying a fine grain structure that is largely consistent in density, making for a pleasing film-like image. There are some mild compression issues in play, sometimes giving the grain a very slightly clumpy appearance. The image reveals sharp, effortless details. Character close-ups are particularly firm and fine, well capable of revealing intricate skin and clothing details with a clarity and screen command that still impresses all these years into the format's lifespan. Environmental definition, often limited to the hospital interiors, and only a few areas at that for much of the film, delights, particularly in points of wear in long lived-in common rooms and corridors. Color output is excellent. The image enjoys effortless tonal accuracy, never shying from bold color presentations as necessary while also showcasing more subtly supportive colors with equal attention to detail. Skin tones appear true. Black levels linger around perfect but never quite make it, looking a little too bright here or crushed there. The print itself appears to be in excellent condition. Encode issues are limited to the aforementioned minor compression artifacts.

Girl, Interrupted Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers some commanding musical output, such as at a club/dance scene at the 25-minute mark. The Classic Rock tune is loud, deep, vibrant, fully engaging through the stage with expert balance to front, surround, and subwoofer components. Often, though, the track lives and dies by the support elements heard throughout. Little odds and ends ambience in the hospital – the TV in the background, footsteps, and doors opening and closing -- lend a sense of life and place to the sonic proceedings. Dialogue propels the vast majority of the listening experience. It's clear, well prioritized, and center positioned for the duration.

Girl, Interrupted Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Girl, Interrupted includes a basic supplemental suite: a commentary track, a featurette, deleted scenes, and a trailer. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director James Mangold discusses the process and challenges of adapting the original book to the screen, cast and performances, the "troubled protagonist" genre, story themes, and much more.
• The Maiing of Girl, Interrupted (1080p, 4x3 and window box, 13:31): Exploring the original book -- including interview clips with the real Susanna Kaysen -- and looking at several of the core film specifics, including James Mangold's direction, character details and cast performances, and more. Plenty of behind the scenes clips are also included.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, various runtimes): Included are Traffic Jam/Boneless Hand, Cafeteria, Susanna and Melvin/Lisa and the Journal, Boston/The Museum, and Playing Jacks/The Supermarket. With optional director commentary.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:27).

Girl, Interrupted Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If there's a fatal flaw here it's that the film never pushes boundaries, even as the characters experience great extremes in their outward experiences and inward psyches. It's content to find a look rather than a feel and a comfort rather than a truth. It's very well acted up front and some of the support performances shine, limited as they may be, but the film can't quite put everything together to allow the audience fully inside the mind or even fully inside the institution. Sony's Blu-ray is solid all around, delivering capable video and audio alongside a standard compliment of bonus features. Worth a look.