In Mark 2:17, Jesus tells his disciples, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”  He said this in response to those who complained that He consorted with sinners instead of those who considered themselves righteous. The point is not to exclude one group or another.  Regardless of a person’s standing with God, we all need Jesus.  I bring up this verse because I think it fits well with what we see in Girl, Interrupted (1999).  It is a movie about a woman, Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), who spends time in a mental health institution.  How she gets there, her struggles inside it, and how she overcomes them, is the subject of what proceeds.  Not to narrow the focus yet, but the breakthrough comes when she finally accepts her treatment.  Those who Jesus spoke of were not aware of their need for healing.  In Jesus’ time and ours, the evidence is all around of the needs of others, and we see in hidden and obvious ways their wish for help.  Opening yourself up to that reality can make a world of difference.

I almost got annoyed with Girl, Interrupted early on because it unfolds for the first hour in a non-linear fashion.  First Susanna is in the basement of Claymoore, the institution, with a number of other patients we latter meet.  Next, she is being taken to the hospital after an apparent suicide attempt.  In another seemingly out of place moment, she tells Dr. Crumble (Kurtwood Smith), a psychiatrist friend of her father’s, that she perceives time differently.  This, I suppose, explains the initial time jumps.  I will smooth them out as best as I can.  Susanna trying to end her life is brought on by a number of factors.  She is dissatisfied with her parents, she has no interest in going to college, and she feels unsupported in her desire to do something else with her life.  She acts out in a number of ways before chasing a bottle of aspirin with a large amount of vodka.  One is promiscuity, sleeping with one of her former teachers.  Another is drug use, which is how she came up with her conception of time, and the belief that there are no bones in her hands.  Her one outlet is writing, which is the only thing she cares about doing, but most people in her life do not think this is a serious pursuit.  Thus, it is Dr. Crumble that recommends that she be sent to Claymore, with Susanna’s parents’ consent.  Being over eighteen, she has to sign her admission papers on her own, which she does bewilderingly as she is told that this is what is best for her.  Like many in this situation, before and after, she claims that she is not crazy.  Thus, it takes her a little time to adjust.  There is a moment when she thinks her roommate, Georgina Tuskin (Clea DuVall), might be some help, but she turns out to be a pathological liar.  As such, she keeps to herself for days until the arrival of Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie).  Actually, the more accurate term would be “return,” as she had escaped and is brought back by the authorities.  Their interaction gets off to a rocky start, though, as Susanna is occupying the bed once used by Lisa’s best friend.  Unfortunately, that person hung herself while Lisa was away.  What first bonds Lisa and Susanna is a confrontation with Daisy Randone (Brittany Murphy).  Daisy is anti-social, mocking the other patients and mostly keeping to the room her father pays for her to have to herself.  Susanna gains entrance by offering laxatives that Daisy is denied, and Lisa bursts in with Susanna.  Together, they discover more of Daisy’s sickness, particularly how she hides under her bed the bones of the rotisserie chickens her father brings her.  This experience is the beginning of a friendship between Lisa and Susanna, and they form a small cadre of their own.  This group, led by Lisa, sneaks off their ward and into Dr. Sonia Wick’s (Vanessa Redgrave) office.  She is the head psychologist at the facility, and they go there to read the files Claymoore is collecting on them.  This is the first time that Susanna is confronted with her having what the mental health professionals refer to as a borderline personality disorder.  While she is horrified, and not ready to accept this reality, she looks up the definition and is surprised by how much it fits her.  It is the beginning of a moving in the right direction, as exemplified by when Tobias Jacobs (Jared Leto) shows up and asks her to escape with him to Canada, which is where he is going to dodge the draft for the Vietnam War.  The reason she gives for refusing is that her friends are there, but she is also not feeling confident of being outside.  He leaves, angry.  Later, when Polly “Torch” Clark (Elisabeth Moss), the nickname given her by Lisa for the burns on her face, is put into confinement, Susanna organizes a little concert for Polly to bring her some cheer.  The next morning, Nurse Valerie Owens (Whoopi Goldberg) comes to work to find them all in front of the door to the isolation chamber, and Susanna resting on an orderly’s shoulder.  Valerie is furious, prompting Lisa and Susanna to run away together.  Eventually, they take refuge with Daisy, who had been discharged and is living in her own apartment.  Lisa, though, cannot help but goad the clearly still unstable Daisy, who commits suicide the next morning.  Lisa is dismissive of the event and leaves, but a horrified Susanna stays and is taken back to Claymoore.  Without Lisa, Susanna gives herself fully to treatment and is set to be released.  The night before this is to happen, Lisa is brought back into the ward.  Susanna is lured out of her room and is confronted by her friends, who are particularly upset by what she has written about them in her diary.  Though they are upset, particularly Lisa, it is also what they need to hear about themselves.  The next morning, Susanna has a heartfelt moment with each of them before departing.

Girl, Interrupted deals with some scary but important issues, mental health being the obvious one.  It is interesting to see it from a historical point of view and how these conditions were once treated.  It is not just the antiquated facility and methods, but also the social disapprobation of being either in such a place, or associated with one.  It all points back to what I was saying in the introduction about how we need a physician, and that one being Jesus.  Contrary to popular opinion, which should not be listened to anyway when it comes to Catholicism, the Church takes mental health seriously.  The head and the heart are both part of one body, created by God, and meant to be a vessel for the soul.  How you treat these things can equally affect the eternal.  What makes it hard to not negatively impact these things is modern society.  There is a stretch in the film when Lisa is put into a different ward than Susanna, and Susanna goes into a fit of depression.  The person who confronts Susanna on her attitude is Valerie.  Valerie tells Susanna that the girl is indulging her flaws.  Our culture seems geared towards wallowing in them instead of doing anything about them.  That is why counseling is such a wonderful tool.  Yet, it is only that, and the whole person cannot be treated without the ultimate Physician.  The head and heart are important, but where are they going without the soul?  The movie does not seem to address this part of our creation, sadly.  For me, this is why, as Susanna is taking the taxi away from Claymoore at the end, there is a look of uncertainty on her face.  To deal with all the challenges the world provides, you need something within you that your head and heart can help with, but only God can overcome.

One of the takeaways from Girl, Interrupted is Susanna “finding herself” through therapy.  In this narrow sense, it is a powerful movie worth watching.  Without God, however, it falls short as so many do.  To illustrate this idea, I will share with you a personal story.  In the opening scene, there is a Simon & Garfunkel song called “Bookends.”  It is not long, so I will give you all the lyrics.  It goes, “Time it was, and what a time it was/ A time of innocence, a time of confidences/ Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph/ Preserve your memories; They’re all that’s left you.”  I used to listen to this song a lot before I began taking my Faith seriously, particularly when feeling lonely.  It is presented in the film as a way of setting up how Susanna has these reminisces in order to represent who she is.  God sees the bigger picture, which is why I rely on Him.