Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
Unevenly structured and directed, its sensibility only one notch above that of a Lifetime telepic.
– Emanuel Levy,
Variety,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
The film generates real empathy, without too much let's-laugh -at- the -crazy- people humor or too much stereotyping.
– Jeff Millar,
Houston Chronicle,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
If only the story of Susanna's evolution didn't keep getting interrupted by everything else.
– Steven Rosen,
Denver Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
A muddled production that misses the jarring tone of the autobiographical book by Susanna Kaysen on which it is based. The film is entertaining, but not very powerful.
– Peter Stack,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Jun 2002
fresh:
Does it matter that every time Jolie's offscreen the film wilts a little? Ryder should be perfect as the bright spark; her lines are sharp as a knife. There's a gap, however, between what we hear and what we see.