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JAMIE ANNEL

** out of ****

If there’s one thing a movie about a mental institution doesn’t need, it’s a pat ending. Yet that’s what writer/director James Mangold gives to "Girl, Interrupted."

The film opens with 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) in an emergency room, having attempted suicide by chasing a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka. "I had a headache," she tells a psychiatrist, but soon, she’s being admitted to Claymoore, the local mental hospital.

The fellow patients in Susanna’s ward include a burn victim, a pathological liar, and two girls with eating disorders. Then there’s Lisa (Angelina Jolie), the resident sociopath.

Lisa has been in and out of Claymoore for years, usually being dropped off by the police. Despite her obvious problems, though, Lisa is incredibly charming, and she and Susanna quickly bond.

"Girl, Interrupted" is based on the real Susanna Kaysen’s autobiographical book, which Winona Ryder spent years bringing to the screen. Her efforts are admirable, but it’s possible that the story of "Girl, Interrupted" is too disjointed to lend itself to film. Real life rarely provides clear-cut endings, and that’s a major flaw of the movie.

One comes away from the film unsure as to what Susanna really learned from her experiences, especially when it was unclear as to what her real problems were in the first place.