The Angelina Jolie Classic On Netflix That Will Leave You Sobbing
Angelina Jolie has had a long, storied Hollywood career and has proven she can do anything from high-octane action blockbusters to quiet dramas. Through all this, she has somehow only won one Oscar, and it’s for a film that may get you to shed a few tears by the end. If you’re interested in checking out one of Jolie’s best performances, for which she won her only Oscar to date, Girl, Interrupted is now available to stream on Netflix.
Angelina Jolie won her only Oscar for the role of Lisa in Girl, Interrupted, streaming now on Netflix.
Girl, Interrupted is a 1999 film based on Susanna Kysen’s memoir about a young woman who spends 18 months in a psychiatric hospital after a suicide attempt. The film was an early directorial effort from James Mangold, who also co-wrote the film adaptation with Lisa Loomer and Anna Hamilton Phelan.
Along with Angelina Jolie, the film’s cast included Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Moss, Angela Bettis, Vanessa Redgrave, and Jared Leto.
While Winona Ryder anchors the film and was rightfully praised for her performance as the lead in Girl, Interrupted, Angelina Jolie was cast in the flashier role of Lisa, a diagnosed sociopath who has been in a psychiatric institution for eight years.
Despite being perfectly cast, many young Hollywood stars tried out for this film, including Reese Witherspoon, Christina Ricci, Katie Holmes, Gretchen Mol, Kate Hudson, Alicia Witt, Sarah Polley, and Rose McGowan. Mangold also spoke to Courtney Love, Alanis Morissette, and Parker Posey about roles in the film.
The casting for Girl, Interrupted ended up being one of the best parts of the film, which actually received mostly mixed reviews upon its release. Although the film’s reception has grown warmer over time, Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie’s performances have always been widely considered the best aspects. However, the author of the book, Susanna Kaysen, was not a fan of the dramatization of her memoir and called it “melodramatic drivel.”
The fact that the film was initially only released to nine theaters goes to show just how early in their careers the cast of Girl, Interrupted was at the time. Nowadays, an Angelina Jolie film would automatically get a wide release. Still, the film managed to make some decent money and opened to $95,399, leading to a wide release where the film eventually made $48.3 million worldwide.
The adaptation of Girl, Interrupted, directed by rising star James Mangold, was a hot script in Hollywood, with Angelina Jolie beating out other stars, including Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon for the role.
Despite the initial limited release and the mixed reception, the Academy noticed Girl. Interrupted and gave Angelina Jolie her first nomination and a Best Supporting Actress win for her performance. She would also take home similar awards at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards. Jolie’s performance no doubt helped to launch her career as a leading lady in Hollywood, considering she would star in the blockbuster Lara Croft: Tomb Raider just two years later.
After Angelina Jolie gave one of her best dramatic performances in Girl, Interrupted, she stuck to blockbusters for a while, like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Salt. Her most recent blockbuster was in the MCU, where she played the Eternal Thena.
While there hasn’t been any word from Marvel on if the Eternals will officially return due to the film’s lukewarm reception, there’s certainly hope that we might see the characters pop up again elsewhere.
Angelina Jolie’s Upcoming Films
Now might be the perfect time to see Angelina Jolie’s performance in Girl, Interrupted, considering all of her upcoming projects don’t have official release dates. There have been announcements about Jolie’s starring roles in the films Maria and Every Note Played, but there hasn’t been much new news for either film.
Maria is a biopic about American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas while Every Note Played is a film about an ex-wife (Jolie) of a concert pianist (Christoph Waltz) who steps in as his caregiver after he is diagnosed with ALS.
Before we see Angelina Jolie perform in a new film, we will likely see her next directorial effort, Without Blood. Angelina Jolie directed and wrote the script for Without Blood, which is an adaptation of the 2002 book about a girl during wartime. The film will star Salma Hayek and Demian Bichir in the lead roles.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on when Angeline Jolie will release Without Blood. For now, we’ll just have to wait until Jolie updates us on her upcoming projects. Until then, make sure to check out Girl, Interrupted on Netflix.
