Review of Girl, Interrupted (1999)
- Danielle Burton
- Mar 18, 2018
- 2 min read
Girl, Interrupted (1999) directed by James Mangold is truly brilliant drama movie based on Susanna Kaysen’s memoir of the same name. It is a brilliantly made film that I believe anyone who appreciates drama should consider watching.
I would honestly consider Girl, Interrupted to be the perfect drama movie. The plot is particularly interesting and rather unique since it is based on true events. And the characters, considering they too are based on actual people, are interesting and identifiable, allowing for an emotional bond with each character that I feel is important in a good drama movie.
The cast is also amazing, perhaps one of the greatest casts of a movie in my opinion. They are all pretty magnificent actors and really bring the movie and their individual characters to life. For instance, without giving anything away, the individual mental illnesses of the characters were realistic and convincing as the actors are really amazing and the film itself is very well made. It appeared to me that the aspects of mental health mentioned in the film were accurate, which I think should be credited. It is clear that, in addition to Susanna Kaysen’s depiction of mental health from her experiences, James Mangold also did some intensive research on the subject to increase the validity and realism of the movie and the issues presented.
Also, the movie itself was just beautifully made. Characterisation of the protagonist was primarily done through well timed, well thought out flashbacks which I believe really allowed for an in-depth characterisation, whilst allowing fluidity within the movie by not breaking from the main plot line to talk about the past of the main character. There were also some well used parallels of some of the soundtrack and certain events. For instance the beginning and end of the movie parallel each other perfectly, allowing for a clear plot development and is actually very satisfying as a viewer.
Girl, Interrupted really is the perfect drama movie, and the fact that it is based on true events makes it much more interesting to watch in my opinion. There really is very little to fault with it, my only concern is that it may be a little too long, and some minor parts of the plot seemed somewhat irrelevant, but when you consider that this is based on a memoir, the occasional irrelevance seems a lot less irrelevant. On the whole though, Girl, Interrupted is a truly magnificent movie that should be seen by everyone.

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