"I've wasted a year of my life. Maybe everybody out there is a liar. And maybe the whole world is 'stupid' and 'ignorant.' But I'd rather be in it. I'd rather be fucking in it, than down here with you."
Girl, Interrupted is a drama film, based on the book of the same title, directed by James Mangold.
The synopsis: Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen’s prescribed “short rest” from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice’s Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
* SPOILERS AHEAD *
As mentioned, the film is set in the 1960s, so many of the portrayals and stigmas of mental illnesses are outdated. This makes logical sense, but it doesn't keep me from being bothered by the characters feeling like caricatures of mentally ill people.
The protagonist, Susanna, struggles with her diagnosis throughout the film. She wonders if she even belongs there, if anything is wrong with her to begin with. I found that to be very relatable, and I think many others did, too. However, the only other folks with her in the mental hospital are very extreme portrayals. Considering the time it is set in, the 1960s, would it not be more common to have more people similar to Susanna in the hospital? I feel like people in the 1960s would flinch at even the slightest sign of mental health struggles since it was so taboo.
The characters feel defined by their diagnoses in Girl, Interrupted. Most of the characters are one dimensional, and we learn nothing about them aside from their diagnosis. It is Susanna's story, but it would be nice if these characters had more depth and more of an impact.
Also, the film tends to focus on the fun-to-watch parts of Susanna's Borderline Personality Disorder — the impulsivity, the promiscuity — while glossing over the less attractive symptoms that are typically present with BPD.
At some points, the film treats BPD like it isn't as serious of a mental illness, especially compared to the other patients' illnesses. The head nurse tells Susanna that she's just "lazy" and "self-indulgent," and the film never contradicts this statement. Dr. Wick also presents "sanity" as a choice in Susanna's case, and asks her to what degree she intends to "indulge flaws," implying that Susanna can and should simply choose to get over it. This is a harmful narrative about mental illnesses that our culture continues to perpetuate.
The plot also downplays the hard work of treatment and recovery, presenting it in a quick montage set to cheerful music. Susanna is declared a "recovered borderline" at the end of the film despite only spending half a year in treatment. In reality, recovery from BPD can take years, and some never fully recover.
The film does a decent job portraying multiple mental illness of varying severities and showing how they affect each person uniquely. It also brings light to stigmas around mental illness, but it simply felt empty because of the lack of depth and serious exploration of the topic.
★★★☆☆
watched 8/9/23