7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Based on writer Susanna Kaysen's account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s.
Starring: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth MossBiography | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 4.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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1961
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1965
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1984
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Collector's Edition
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