Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Girl Interrupted: The book vs the movie

Had some fun this week reading the 1993 classic Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen.  Ms. Kaysen wrote a really thought provoking series of non-fiction pieces about her life in a mental institution over about 18 months in the late 60's.  The essays are roughly chronological and in between chapters she shows artifacts from her patient file:  doctors notes, official admitting papers and discharge papers.  I liked that it was a very nuanced look about a teenagers life in a mental hospital: was she crazy or was she just a typical teenager?  Sometimes I felt genuine madness was afoot and sometimes she seemed to be the only sane one on the ward.  I liked that she played with my perceptions and that life in the hospital was neither all good or all bad.
This book came out early in the memoir writing craze and is probably one of the better ones to take a look at mental health.  

Winona Ryder played Susanna Kaysen in the 1999 movie of the same name.  Angelina Jolie won an Oscar for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Lisa, Susanna's crazy best friend in the asylum.  What is most interesting about the book to movie is how much the producers had to add to Kaysen's fairly simple story in order to make it an interesting movie. 

While Kaysen simply mentions the existence of underground tunnels in her memoir, in the movie they become part of illicit rituals in which the women on the ward participate in order to gain a little control over their lives.   A woman who leaves the ward and goes to live on her own commits suicide.  It is a sad mark in the book; in the movie it becomes a major plot point. And the most fantastic part is the homoerotic/lesbian overtones between Susanna and Lisa. This was so far from the book it was almost laughable, but it really works in the movie and in some ways makes a lot of sense.

The movie managed to portray the character's ambivalence about her situation fairly well. I loved seeing how the script writers wove together the author's voice and minor plot points to make an interesting narrative arc.  It had a great cast including Elizabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men) and Whoopi Goldberg.  I suddenly feel like I am stepping out of my comfort zone reviewing a movie here--but I did enjoy reading the book and seeing the movie together. It is easily a weekend project with time out for soup and a walk in the woods.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read/viewed these two at some temporal distance, so I loved reading your treatment of both together. Thanks! Sounds like a fun project.... (HOW do you pack so much into your life, my friend? I admire you.) MKP

Anonymous said...

mentioned that she freshly construe an artifact about how come through salons are wretched since grouping square measure doing their own nails in govern to bar money. So, I speculation when you think about it, $16 isn’t a nonstandard come for pinpoint polish up you can get a skillful turn of uses out of and have diversion with it. I know it’s silly, but one of the primary reasons I’ve avoided purchasing a couple of come down boots is, well, that about precipitation boots look like downfall boots. Not to comment I hate lugging some a conjoin of situation to change into in one case I’m indoors. But in the eye of a torrential deluge during my exchange this morning, I distinct that it’s at length time to obstructer being hardheaded and to go living thing realistic by investment in a unite of galosh boots dicks sporting good coupons I didn't actually desire to prepare myself up for failure. Was stressful to beginning this year somaesthesia energizing and bright, without all the thing innocence that accompanies the first failed endeavour at quitting chocolate, sugar, alcohol...or any other I've decided to come to from my lifestyle.I'm in particular partial of wearing this discernment of blouse in a pearlescent color in teamed up with a nonentity fabric, either somthing ethereal like cloth or vaporous like chiffon. I also make out union it with cropped adjust trousers for a flirty young energy. Here area unit trey swanky ways to combine this top into your collection for whatever and all business Over the death year this slouchy equipment-style top broken popping up, and this is one style I trust ne'er fizzles out. It's the idyllic Libra of search pulled collectively patch at the aforesaid time being unbelievably comfortable. And it looks just as good flight as it does with tenfold pieces stratified on top.

Carolin Newmeyer said...

I admit I haven't read the book, but the movie already plays this idea between what is normal and what is not normal. There's also institution that has to be addressed... who's to say whom of us is "normal?" Still, teens who have the tendency to self-destruct must be given additional guidance.