The last film made under Ryder's persuasion was the dreadful The House
Of The Spirits. Somehow, Girl, Interrupted escapes that fate. It's not
because of the winsome Winona, sent to a mental hospital for being
directionless, irritating and adolescent (it should be called the
Winona Ryder Institute). Perhaps it's indie director Mangold, who
handles Ryder the way he handles Stallone in Cop Land, playing her in
type and setting her up for a fall... in the shape of the screwy, sexy
Angelina Jolie. While everything the film has to say is worthless,
Jolie deserved her Oscar for burning incandescent despite
flame-proof material.
