"Do not drop anchor here."  --  Whoopi Goldberg as Nurse Valerie cautioning Winona Ryder's Susanna

Based on the real memoir of Susanna Kaysen, Girl Interrupted has several things going for it. A very strong cast, headlined by the movie's two stars, Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. Ryder plays Susanna, who ends up committing herself to Claymore after graduating from high school. Her parents, concerned that she is on a rapid downward spiral push her to do this, but once done, it is done.

What she finds is a group of women whose problems far outstrip her own "borderline personality disorder" as her shrink defines it for her. Georgina, Polly and Daisy have serious issues, but their problems pale in comparison to those of Lisa. Lisa's return to the ward, not long after Susanna's arrival changes everything. Lisa, portrayed by Angelina Jolie in a performance that won her a well-deserved Golden Globe award for best supporting actress. Jeffrey Tambor is the first 'shrink' to treat her at Claymore, but Susanna will ultimately begin treatment with the facility's director, well-played by Vanessa Redgrave.

What makes Girl, Interrupted worth seeing is the mixture of strong performances from the two lead actresses, along with the struggle of a woman to keep her grip on sanity in spite of the pressures to tear that grip and everything else about her into pieces.

Lisa's presence creates a level of chaos that inhibits the progress of most of the girls on the ward. This is true of Susanna at first, but that changes as throughout the course of the movie she begins to see Lisa as she really is. This point is driven home during Lisa and Susanna's escape from the ward, as they crash for the night at the apartment of a former patient of the ward who was recently released.

To tell much more of the story is to ruin the experience. The key question is will what Susanna sees in the ward help her to see where she went wrong in living in the world outside of Claymore.