Girl, Interrupted (1999)

August 26, 2022 5:14 AM

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.

Based on the 1993 book by Susanna Kaysen.

Trailer, Ebert, Stephen Holden (NYT).

Although the soundtrack is mostly period music (Them, Merrilee Rush), Wilco contributed 'How to Fight Loneliness.'

Streaming in the US on Netflix and HBO Max, rentable via Apple TV, Amazon and others.

posted by box (2 comments total)

I don't recall if the escape to Baileys Ice cream shop in Belmont Center was just in the book, but it was a real new england spot that I enjoyed. Right on a corner with wide windows, the hot fudge sundae was in a tall steel dish with matching saucer with the fudge ladled on overflowing onto the saucer. Quirky and unique and really tasty. Really just one block from the hospital grounds so not an incredible venture.

(slight Belmont derail, the headquarters of the John Birch Society was there for years ;-)
posted by sammyo at 2:31 PM on August 26, 2022

My memory of the actual film is overshadowed by the stories about how Winona Ryder (whose pet project this film was) was upset that Angelina Jolie stole the spotlight in this film. Jolie was pretty great in it, as was Brittany Murphy. Winona Ryder so often played a very similar, brooding character, including in this one.
posted by Glinn at 11:51 AM on August 28, 2022