“Girl, Interrupted” A self-portrait of Winona Ryder who lives forever *Note! Contains spoilers.

live forever

"Why does my heart still beat? Why do my eyes still tear? Don't you know the world is over? When you say goodbye?" (" End of the World ")

Susanna feels threatened by Lisa, but is also intensely attracted to her. Her unconscious ambivalent feelings. One day, Susanna and Lisa escape from the facility. The shot of the two casually kissing is one of the highlights that is still talked about today. At this point, Susanna accepts the threat that is Lisa.

The two go to Daisy's house after she is released from the hospital. Lisa hurts her with brutally honest words. The next morning, Susanna witnesses Daisy's suicide in a room with a record of " End of the World " by Skeeter Davis playing on repeat. Looking back at the scene from the present, it's especially heartbreaking considering that Brittany Murphy, who played Daisy, died at the young age of 32. Winona Ryder has said that she can't rewatch the film because she keeps thinking about Brittany Murphy.

“Girl, Interrupted” (c) Photofest / Getty Images

The time for Susanna to be released from the hospital arrives. Her diary is stolen, and Lisa reads out the contents of it. Susanna runs away, and Lisa chases after her. The darkness in the underground corridor functions like a horror movie. The diary that Susanna wrote exploits the stories of her companions. In a sense, Susanna is being punished here. At the same time, Susanna's diary confronts Lisa with a truth that she is not aware of. The emotions that Lisa was looking for, her lust for life, are not something she is lacking. She just doesn't realize that she has had them all along. Just like the characters in " The Wizard of Oz ."

As they say goodbye, Susanna paints Lisa's nails with nail polish. Lisa has been living as a "prisoner" in this facility since she was 12 years old. This farewell scene is painful because it is clear to everyone that Lisa's life from now on will be a difficult one. However, the film is able to record the "goodbye" as something eternal. The beautiful record of their performance as "the girl interrupted" will remain forever.

Just as the role of Susanna was a self-portrait of Winona Ryder at this time, this film is engraved with the eternal way of life that only these women at that time could leave behind. Perhaps eternity is the accumulation of moments in someone's life. An accumulation of shards of shattered glass. The greatest contribution that the film "Girl, Interrupted" makes to Susanna Kaysen's original novel is none other than this precious record that captures the moment in which these women lived. Winona forever. These women who live forever.

*1 Big Star [Girl, Interrupted: Winona Ryder Interview by Prairie Miller]

*2 Golden Gloves [Out of the Archives: Angelina Jolie about "Girl, Interrupted"]

*3 Cinephilia & Beyond ['Be Inspired to Try Things, Miracles Happen When Someone Takes a Chance': A Conversation with James Mangold]

Reference materials:

"Girls in the Adolescent Ward" (Soshisha Bunko) Paperback by Susanna Kaysen (author) and Tomoko Yoshida (translator)

"Girl, Interrupted Record Collector's Edition" [DVD]: Audio bonuses and bonus footage