Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but does anyone else remember how James Mangold's "Girl, Interrupted" was supposed to be the bright, new
launching point for Winona Ryder's career? Instead, playing the
scary, vulnerable Lisa (a far more damaged woman
... more than Ryder's tentative narrator
Susanna), Jolie charmed and roared her way to an Oscar nomination for Best
Supporting Actress and beat out Catherine Keener, Chloe Sevigny, Toni Collette and Samantha Morton to take the trophy home. Ranting, raging,
offering tough advice and quoting Dorothy Parker, Lisa proved to be the perfect
character to showcase Jolie's skill set. Lisa is a feral, bright and broken
individual, even if detractors claimed the role was hardly a stretch for a young
actress already known for her extreme behavior and blunt pronouncements. Jolie's
Oscar win made her an actress that audiences recognized and that studios could
begin to bank on in bigger films. Close