Girl, Interrupted

James Mangold turns Susanna Kaysen’s memoir into a film with a plot, and the author disliked the result. Kaysen entered McLean Hospital in Massachusetts in April 1967 for a rest meant to last a couple of weeks and stayed 18 months; she later built the book on her own case file, obtained with a lawyer’s help. Her objection to Mangold was that he invented events the book never contains, above all the stretch where Susanna and Lisa run from the ward. The most propulsive half hour here is the half hour the source disowns. The rights were bought in 1993 and three screenplays were tried and dropped across five years. Winona Ryder produced as well as starred, and brought Mangold in after seeing his first feature, Heavy. Shooting took place at Harrisburg State Hospital in Pennsylvania, the building that plays Claymoore. Angelina Jolie won the Oscar for supporting actress, the only nomination the film received that year, and took the Golden Globe, SAG and Critics’ Choice for the same role. A good fit if you accept that Susanna narrates while Lisa pulls the centre of gravity to herself. Not for you if you want the interior voice the book builds from her own case file; this is a cleanly built story.