Based on writer Susanna Kaysen’s account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the late 1960s, Winona Ryder stars in the fascinating true story of a young woman’s life-altering stay at a famous psychiatric hospital in the turbulent late 1960s.
Questionably diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Susanna (Winona Ryder) rebels against the head nurse (Whoopi Goldberg) and top psychiatrist (Vanessa Redgrave), choosing instead to befriend the resident “loonies”, a group of troubled women including the seductively charismatic sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie). But Susanna quickly learns if she wants her freedom, she’ll have to face the person who terrifies her the most of all: herself.
Screening as part of Not, Interrupted, a series of films at Heart of Hawick that explore mental health on the big screen, and ask questions about the portrayal of mental health, stigma, treatments and if a revolution in these is still to come.
