In the 1999 psychological drama film Girl, Interrupted, actress Winona Ryder plays the role of 18 year-old Susanna Kaysen. At one point in the movie, Susanna gets into a fight with her friend Polly Bailey (played by Elisabeth Moss). In one scene, an enraged Polly slaps Susanna across the face so hard that she bleeds and requires stitches. In a later scene we see that the side of Polly’s face looks deformed and swollen- presumably from the collision of Susanna’s jewelry with her skin. The combination of these facial injuries creates a lasting impression on viewers ─ as well as being indicative of the seriousness of their altercation.
Polly is described as being beautiful and very talented, but she is also troubled with her mental illness. When she gets to Claymore Hospital, she has cuts all over her body and face. She says that she cut herself on purpose because she was told that if you cut yourself enough times it would make you feel better.
In another scene near the end of the movie, Polly is seen sitting on a bench with her friend Lisa who seems concerned about something happening with Polly’s face. The camera goes closer to Polly’s face revealing that it has been covered in bruises and cuts from where she has been hitting herself repeatedly against things like walls or doors when she gets upset. The audience never finds out exactly what happened to cause these injuries but we can infer that they were caused by self-harm due to her mental illness.
Finally, Polly was ultimately released from the clinic and returned to her family. She reportedly still mourns for mental health issues.
