Girl, Interrupted

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Theatrical Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - 1.85:1 (not 16x9), Dolby Digital 5.1
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	Yes, 1 - Dolby Digital City
Year Released	1999	Commentary Tracks	Yes, 1 - James Mangold (Director)
Running Time	122:14 Minutes	Other Extras	Menu Audio Featurette - *HBO First Look: The Making Of...* Deleted Scenes (with or without Director's Commentary) Cast & Crew Biographies Isolated Music Score
RSDL/Flipper	RSDL (73:53)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region	2,4	Director	James Mangold
Studio Distributor	Columbia Tristar	Starring	Winona Ryder Angelina Jolie Clea DuVall Brittany Murphy Elizabeth Moss Jared Leto
Case	Transparent Amaray	Starring
RPI	$39.95	Music	Mychael Danna

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	MPEG	None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Dolby Digital	5.1
16x9 Enhancement		Soundtrack Languages	English (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s) English Audio Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0 , 192 Kb/s) Isolated Music Score (Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 Kb/s)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Macrovision	Yes	Smoking	Yes (you have to pass the time somehow in those hospitals)
Subtitles	English Dutch Arabic Bulgarian Croatian Czech Danish Finnish Greek Hebrew Hindu Hungarian Icelandic Norwegian Polish Swedish Turkish Dutch Audio Commentary	Annoying Product Placement	No
Subtitles		Action In or After Credits	No

Plot Synopsis

Being that I am a regular consumer of the mental health services provided by one branch or another of our ever-so-awful government for reasons I will leave to the imagination of the reader, I felt that there was no person in this reviewing team more qualified to examine the authenticity of Girl, Interrupted and its plot. This is especially important to me given that the film is entirely from the perspective of the patient rather than the simple "fly-on-the-wall" perspective of other films in this setting. The film, such as it is, is based upon the semi-biographical book by Susanna Kaysen. This in itself certainly does not guarantee authenticity, as the book in question is based upon the experiences of a single patient in the 1960s, a real Dark Ages for psychiatry, and there is a long journey in the translation between an authentic book and an authentic movie. Still, from the perspective of a badly mistreated patient from the last two decades of the twentieth century, I have come to the conclusion that Girl, Interrupted is an interesting adaptation of one woman's authentic experiences in a system more insane than the worst of its patients.

Bear in mind that it is hard for a man who has been misdiagnosed five times and put on so many incorrect medications during the last two decades to judge a film based on the experiences of a woman who attempted to kill herself during the 1960s, but I still think such an opinion is better than what you'll get anywhere else. One authentic detail you will notice in this film is the arbitrary and rather preposterous manner in which people could be placed in a mental hospital or similar institution. By comparison, the processes today are much more rigidly defined and legally structured, meaning that you can't be taken off to places like Claymoore (sic) simply because your parents dislike the way you dress, as is alluded to in one of the deleted scenes. Another detail that highlights the difference between psychiatric hospitals of then and now is the manner in which dangerous patients such as Lisa (Angelina Jolie) are put in the same ward as harmless ones such as Susanna (Winona Ryder), after being brought back to the hospital by the police, no less. The manner in which she screams at her fellow patients that they make her sick because of their weakness and then begs to head nurse Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) not to be put in isolation is a comedic highlight that brought back one of the few amusing memories of the first half of the 1990s that I have.

By far, the most attractive aspect of the plot is the combination of its complexity and simple execution. In a nutshell, a young Susanna Kaysen makes an attempt upon her life, the immediate results and not-so-immediate causes of which we see in flashbacks. After her stomach is pumped, Susanna is taken to a friend of the family who just happens to be a doctor, although not necessarily a psychiatrist from what I could discern. From there, she is taken by taxi to Claymoore, the local psychiatric hospital, which will have some of us who remember being taken to our local psychiatric hospital in the back of a police car pointing and laughing, in spite of the fact that this was quite possible forty years ago. Under today's system, the events depicted in this movie simply simply would not happen, although the confused, angry, and often violent or inappropriate (in the real sense of the word) behaviour of the patients certainly hasn't changed in all this time.

In other words, the hype and praise that has been heaped upon this film is certainly deserved, although the extent to which the viewer feels this is going to vary somewhat. It is easy to see why Angelina Jolie won a Best Supporting Actress award for her efforts, although I think that Whoopi Goldberg played her part a little better. Obviously, comparisons between this film and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest are bound to occur, and the comparisons are certainly well in favour of this film, especially as the story this screenplay is based upon is biographical rather than fictional. However, comparing the two is like comparing apples with oranges, as the earlier film obviously wasn't intended to be factual. If you're confusing this film with the proverbial "chick flick", then you need to see it in order to find out how mistaken you are, although quite why it is rated MA is beyond me. If you're after a factual exploration of the lives of psychiatric patients in a time when their illness was the least of their problems, rather than a pile of idiotic, unresearched garbage, then this is the film for you. I certainly couldn't find anything wrong with it that was worthy of point deductions.

Transfer Quality

Video

Matching an excellent plot is an excellent video transfer, with very little to complain about that relates to the film itself, as we've more or less come to expect from the Columbia Tristar stable.

The transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is clear and sharp from start to finish, with every detail that the director intended for his audience to see being perfectly visible at all times. The shadow detail is also excellent, with not a single detail unintentionally hidden by the lighting, although some scenes seem to be more shadow than detail. This seemed to enhance the scenes in question rather than detract from from them, so this was a perfectly acceptable way to render the lighting. Another expectation that comes with being a DVD from the Columbia Tristar stable is that there is a complete absence of low-level noise, and this transfer certainly delivers on that count.

The colour saturation is variable according to the scenery, with most of the film being muted and somewhat dull in accordance with Susanna's apparent mood in those scenes. Whether this is an artistic choice or not, I really couldn't say, but this is the effect it had, and an excellent effect it is, too. The scenes that lead up to her release were warmly and accurately rendered, although this could simply be because they were among the few parts of the transfer that were photographed under normal conditions.

MPEG artefacts were not seen in the transfer, although the backgrounds in such shots as the flashbacks and the first time Susanna is handed medication without even being told what it is (at 19:34) had a tendency to be blurred and indistinct, which may have simply been a photographic limitation. Film-to-video artefacts also weren't noticed for the most part, with any instances of shimmering disappearing before they really became discernible. Film artefacts were totally absent from the transfer, reflecting the fact that this film was only in the theatres less than six months ago.

This disc is presented in the RSDL format, with the layer change taking place between Chapter 18 and Chapter 19, at 73:53. This is excellent timing, with the pause taking place just after Susanna's conversation with Polly, and it took me nine viewings to even notice it.

Audio

The audio transfer matches the video transfer, bringing out the inherent beauty of the film without calling any attention to itself.

There are three soundtracks on this DVD: the original English dialogue in Dolby Digital 5.1, an English audio commentary by director James Mangold in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround encoding, and an Isolated Music Score in Dolby Digital 5.1 for good measure. Naturally, I listened to all three soundtracks for the sake of curiosity and completism, although the Isolated Music Score is not a soundtrack that I would want to return to a second time.

The dialogue is clear and easy to understand at all times, except when various mental patients are screaming, weeping, or otherwise speaking incoherently, which helps to keep the film's authenticity in terms of the setting. There were no discernible audio sync problems, but it would not surprise me to learn that a lot of the dialogue in the psychiatric ward was dubbed in post-production.

The music in this film can be separated into two parts. The first part of the music is a score by Mychael Danna, and the second part is a collection of contemporary songs from the 1960s, much of which have become the basis of societal satire by The Residents. The score music helped set a very sombre atmosphere for the appropriate scenes, while the contemporary music helped to set a more comical tone that was in perfect keeping with the tone of the scenes in which Susanna bonded with the other patients. A more off-beat and satirical theme would have helped a little more, but music of such wit and social relevance was hard to find in those days, much like genuinely helpful psychiatric care. Overall, the music used in this film was always completely appropriate to the shots that it accompanied, and an enhancement to the film rather than a product placement. The scene in which Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie sing the old classic Downtown to a fellow patient is hilariously realistic in its demonstration of the fact that neither actor can sing to save themselves.

The surround channels were used in a thorough, but non-aggressive fashion that really is as good as it can get with films of this variety. The rears were used very frequently to support music, ambient sounds, and several sounds common to the much-loved psychiatric hospital such as the distressed, screaming patients. When the music is let out, the surround field becomes immersive and very theatre-like, although the only difference between these moments and the rest of the film is the amount of usage the surround channels receive. At no point does the surround field collapse into the monophonic dialogue scenes so common to action films on DVD, although you can be forgiven for thinking otherwise during the quieter moments of the film.

The subwoofer was used in moderation to support some of the music and the sounds of such things as bowling balls hitting a wooden floor, and was well integrated into the mix. In spite of its infrequent usage, it never made itself conspicuous at any moment.

Extras

The first thing you will notice when you put this disc in your player is that Columbia Tristar have put together a new, more modern looking and sounding startup logo. I happen to like it, as it looks and sounds a lot classier than the previous startup logo, which is actually a hangover from the days when the Very Horrible System was the only one popularly supported in the home theatre market.

Commentary - James Mangold (Director)

This commentary track is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 with surround-encoding, with the film's soundtrack mixed at a low level when the commentary is actually being spoken, and at a more audible level when there are gaps. Director James Mangold delivers an excellent commentary about the cinematic style of his film, including the emotional and stylistic similarities he drew to The Wizard Of Oz in order to fill out the gaps in Susanna Kaysen's story. According to his comments, the power of this film is not derived from the moment in which Susanna becomes "well enough" to leave the hospital, but rather in the journey to that point, much in keeping with the book. This is an excellent summary of the film, as it is all about transitions rather than arrivals. There are frequent periods of silence in Mangold's commentary, but this is made up for by the fact that the film's soundtrack becomes more audible at these points, and the things that Mangold has to say are quite interesting from both a story point of view and a technical point of view.

Theatrical Trailer (2:29)

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 without 16x9 enhancement, this trailer may have Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, but it still shows that Columbia Tristar are slightly lagging behind in the presentation of this extra. If Roadshow Home Entertainment are capable of enhancing their trailers and deleted scenes for the future shape of television, I'm sure a multi-billion dollar corporation like Columbia can do the same. Having said that much, the source material used for this trailer is in excellent shape, even if it does contain a little bit of grain.

Featurette - HBO First Look: The Making Of... (13:31)

This featurette is presented in variable aspect ratios, shifting between 1.85:1 and 1.33:1, again without 16x9 enhancement, and also without the redeeming feature of Dolby Digital 5.1 sound (the sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 instead). What does redeem this featurette is the quick inclusion of a still shot featuring a young Susanna Kaysen, who looks like she could have been Winona Ryder's mother, the similarities are that uncanny. This featurette is also notable for the inclusion of comments by an elder Susanna Kaysen, who still bears a remarkable resemblance to the actor playing her in this film. I suppose you have to give the casting agents credit for their attention to detail and authenticity. However, most of the people making their comments about the film fail to acknowledge that the world of mental hospitals has changed drastically since the 1960s.

Deleted Scenes - with or without Director's commentary (17:20)

This is presented as a featurette, with seventeen and a half minutes of footage that was cut from the final film all clumped together in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, still without 16x9 enhancement, and again with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. It would have been much better for these deleted scenes to have a menu of their own from which they can be selected individually, as it would have made it a lot easier to identify their context within the film. The director's commentary helps to some extent with this, and it also helps in the understanding of the reasons why a particular scene was cut.

Cast & Crew Biographies

In the order that they are listed in the menu, biographies are provided for director James Mangold, as well as actors Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jared Leto. The titles for each biography, particularly the notation of which character the actors play, are all but unreadable. Apart from that, the information contained in each biography is minimal, focusing more on the awards won by each subject rather than anything of genuine interest. However, it does contain little tidbits such as Angelina Jolie's real surname, and given that she is related to the same Jon Voight that appeared in Anaconda, all I can say is no wonder she omits it.

R4 vs R1

The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

Theatrical Trailer - Foxfire
Theatrical Trailer - Bram Stoker's Dracula
Theatrical Trailer - Little Women
Booklet with Production Notes

In a nutshell, the Region 1 version of this disc makes the assumption that you are buying this disc because Winona Ryder is in the lead role. Given the fact that Angelina Jolie was the one who won the Oscar, and that we still haven't forgiven Winona Ryder for her performance in Alien Resurrection, this is a real mistake. In any case, since none of these extras are what I call necessary or beneficial to my enjoyment of the film, I have to award this one to Region 4 due to the fact that the compression on our version is given more breathing room.

Summary

Girl, Interrupted continues the fine tradition started by As Good As It Gets, and is a more than worthy addition to its little sub-genre. It is presented on a great DVD.

The video quality is excellent, and a reference example of how to transfer a film like this one.

The audio quality is a shining example of how a film with such a subtle soundtrack should sound.

The extras are generous in quantity, but 16x9 enhancement would have been preferred for the trailer and featurette.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment

DVD	Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display	Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm), 16:9 mode/4:3 mode, using S-video input
Audio Decoder	Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification	Sony STR-DE835
Speakers	Panasonic S-J1500D Front Speakers, Philips PH931SSS Rear Speakers, Philips FB206WC Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Subwoofer