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Review

Susanna (Ryder) is at odds with her upper-middle-class suburban existence in 1968 America. The only student in her posh school's graduating class not going on to college, she doesn't know where she fits in, except to know it's not here. A ritualistic suicide attempt lands her in an institution of overmedication and facile diagnoses by classically inept psychiatrists spouting promises of recovery -- psychospeak for salvation. Susanna joins a small group of sister inmates; their dysfuction often seems simply an unwillingness or inability to conform to society's insanity. But within this environment is the presence of real, verifiable madness. Lisa (Jolie, in an Oscar-winning performance) is a lifer, a leader, and a predator. Through her interactions with Lisa, Susanna confronts her own life choices, rediscovers her capacity for connection, and gets outside of herself long enough to feel empathy. The actresses play well off each other: Jolie's visceral, mesmerizing performance is effective counterpoint to Ryder's cerebral, considered portrayal. The film successfully conveys the permeability and convolution of time, as Susanna's experiences fold over themselves; although it falters somewhat at the end, with ambivalence regarding Lisa's character and nature. A thoughtful exploration of an autobiographical book.