History YMMV / GirlInterrupted

** Lisa might have Borderline Personality Disorder. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna[[note]]who seems to get the BPD label primarily because "promiscuity", which by modern standards seems more like a pathologizing of female sexuality than an actual symptom of a disorder[[/note]]: people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD. (The fact that she shows no guilt or remorse when she sees that Daisy has committed suicide ''does'' make her seem like more of a true sociopath, but that could also be her being in denial because she can't face the reality that her actions led to Daisy's death.)

*** Ironically, [[FridgeBrilliance Lisa might actually have Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna[[note]]who seems to get the BPD label primarily because "promiscuity", which by modern standards seems more like a pathologizing of female sexuality than an actual symptom of a disorder[[/note]]: people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD. (The fact that she shows no guilt or remorse when she sees that Daisy has committed suicide ''does'' make her seem like more of a true sociopath, but that could also be her being in denial because she can't face the reality that her actions led to Daisy's death.)
* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Daisy doesn't appear to have any psychological issues pertaining to her weight or body image, but she refuses to eat anything other than the rotisserie chickens her dad makes her. The addiction to laxatives to purge and the description of watching others eat is the equivalent to her of them taking a dump (the association of binging/purging) and may be bulimia nervosa or merely be the end result of an all-chicken diet.

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Daisy doesn't appear to have any psychological issues pertaining to her weight or body image, but she refuses to eat anything other than the rotisserie chickens her dad makes her. The chronic constipation and addiction to laxatives could hint at an eating disorder or merely be the end result of an all-chicken diet.

** Post ''[[Series/StrangerThings]]'', Susanna's "Should I stay or should I go?" line becomes this, considering the role the Clash song of that name played in the series.

** The sequence of Lisa interrogating and eventually chasing Susanna after the former reveals the contents of the latter's diary to Polly and Georgina, considering Lisa is so unpredictable and terrifying that the scene feels ripped out of a full-on horror movie.

* NightmareFuel: Some deleted scenes show some very disturbing hallucinations of Susanna's, such as bending her hand in unnatural positions (this is when she believes that she has "no bones" in her hand), and of blood pouring out of the meat refrigerators at a supermarket. The best example for this trope from the book itself, though, would be when Susanna and a few other inmates go to the Maximum Security Wing to visit someone who was recently transferred from their wing. ...Let's just say there is a very good reason why some of the inmates there were locked up.

** Why did Lisa bully Daisy, in particular, so much? Is it because Daisy was simply an easy target, was it jealousy as Daisy herself suggests or was it FoeYay?

*** Ironically, [[FridgeBrilliance Lisa might actually have Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna[[note]]who seems to get the BPD label primarily because "promiscuity", which by modern standards seems more like a pathologizing of female sexuality than an actual symptom of a disorder[[/note]]: people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD. However, the fact that she shows no guilt or remorse when she sees that Daisy has committed suicide because of her points more to the latter.

*** Ironically, [[FridgeBrilliance Lisa might actually have Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna (who seems to get the BPD label primarily because "promiscuity", which comes across largely a pathologizing of female sexuality): people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD. However, the fact that she shows no guilt or remorse when she sees that Daisy has committed suicide because of her points more to the latter.

* TearJerker:
** [[spoiler:Daisy's]] death.
** Lisa finally breaking down in tears towards the end of the movie.
** The scene with Susanna and Valerie in the former's room, after she's returned to the hospital following [[spoiler:Daisy's suicide]], especially given that Susanna's speech resonates with a lot of viewers:
--->'''Valerie:''' What would you have said to her?\\
'''Susanna:''' I don't know. That I was sorry. That I will never know what it was like to be her. But I know what it's like to want to die. How it hurts to smile. How you try to fit in but you can't. You hurt yourself on the outside to try to kill the thing on the inside.

* HarsherInHindsight: After Creator/BrittanyMurphy's death, Ryder stated that she couldn't watch this movie. Which is understandable given that [[spoiler: Daisy (Murphy's character) passed away in the bathroom and how Murphy herself met her end]].
* HilariousInHindsight: "Have you ever confused a dream with life? ''[[NeverLiveItDown Or stolen something when you have the cash]]?''"

* HoYay: Lisa and Susanna. Lisa bringing Susanna into her circle and her borderline-stalker behavior towards her comes off as a rather obsessive crush sometimes, and the two of them ''are'' rather fixated on each other. Lisa seems to take Susanna's recovery as a personal betrayal, raising the question -- does Lisa resent that Susanna's getting better... or [[PleaseDontLeaveMe that she's going to leave her]]? The two run away together at one point, which doesn't help, nor does the fact that Lisa has the most PetTheDog moments towards Susanna. There's also the fact that Susanna forgives Lisa at the end, and says that she wants to see her again, even after all Lisa did. Susanna even kisses her!

** Vanessa Redgrave as Dr. Sonia Wick technically appears in three scenes, but she absolutely steals her sole major scene.

* VindicatedByHistory
** Despite Angelina Jolie's critically acclaimed performance, reviews upon its initial release were unenthusiastic with many critics deriding it as overly melodramatic. Nowadays, it's viewed as a classic and has gained a sizeable cult following.

*** Ironically, [[FridgeBrilliance Lisa might actually have Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna: people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD. However, the fact that she shows no guilt or remorse when she sees that Daisy has committed suicide because of her points more to the latter.

** Daisy: A victim of sexual abuse, who is bullied relentlessly by Lisa in her own house, which then triggers her to suicide. And above it all, Lisa shows zero remorse when seeing Daisy's corpse hanging in the bathroom.

*** Ironically, [[FridgeBrilliance Lisa might actually have Borderline Personality Disorder]]. Based on what's now understood about BPD, the condition would in fact seem to fit Lisa ''better'' than Susanna: people with BPD struggle to empathize with others (which is often misread as the total lack of empathy characteristic of sociopathy or narcissism, even though it doesn't rise to that level), often exhibit impulsive and risky behavior even to their own detriment, have an extreme fear of abandonment, and experience bouts of sudden, inappropriate anger -- all of these are way more applicable to Lisa than Susanna. Threatening suicide when faced with a threat of abandonment, which Lisa does several times, is also a behavior that comes up relatively frequently with BPD.