The movie tells the story of Susanna Kaysen's incarceration in a mental institution in 1968.
She was pretty much suffering from "not fitting in" in her society, and so her parents had her shipped off to this institution.
What really struck me, was how similar I felt to her. I struggle with depressive moods, and people telling me to snap out of it, and how difficult I'm being.
There were two main statements that I felt were extremely profound. I'm not
quoting it directly, because I can't find a script, but the first was when
Susanna meets the Head Psychiatrist for the first time.
In essence she says
something along the lines of "You need to decide whether to indulge your flaws,
or even if they are flaws."
This made me think about flaws, and about how I have trouble letting myself have them. Perhaps I can have them, as long as I don't indulge them. Certainly when i indulge my impulsivity I start to go a little mad. I have a friend who decided that since she couldn't be good enough (for her parents or society) that she'd be "bad", and indulges her flaws to extremes. She is classified insane.
The other statement was Susanna's statement:
"Madness isn't something
different or apart, but just you or me amplified"
Again, I found that pretty profound, and could directly relate it to me. I have huge highs and huge lows, and I think I can be a little mad when that happens. What if "normal" is simply the pendulum swinging with a smaller amplitude.
So, if the amplitude is increased, and you have higher highs and lower lows, then would you not be "mad" by society standards?
In terms of quality of movie, I really liked it, and it's just a personal opinion. I like Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, and I was pleased to see other familiar faces.
I came away from this movie, not sad, or happy, just thoughtful.