Top 10 Best Films on Multiple Personality Theme

Fight Club (translated: Fight for Life), directed by David Fincher, is one of the defining movies of his career. Fight Club tells the story of an insomnia-afflicted insurance investigator. On a plane journey, he meets Tyler Durden - a soap salesman with a carefree, law-defying lifestyle. Coincidentally, upon returning home, our protagonist discovers his apartment burned down and seeks out Tyler Durden for help.

Together, they establish an underground fight club with two rules: the first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club, the second rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club... The fight club gradually gains members, and Tyler Durden's plans extend beyond this. As fatalities occur, the protagonist realizes things have gone too far, unable to find Tyler Durden anymore while the other members continue to act autonomously.

Of course, because Fight Club is at the top of the top 10 best films on multiple personality theme, it's easy to guess that Tyler Durden and the protagonist are one person. They represent two conflicting personalities within himself. The film reflects many societal downsides, has a tight structure, and the bond between the two personalities, earning it a place among the top 10 best films of all time on IMDb.

Details:

• Release Year: 1999
• Production Company: Fox
• Director: David Fincher
• Stars: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter
• IMDb Rating: 8.8

Similar to the two aforementioned multiple personality disorder films, Shutter Island (translated: Horrifying Island) is also directed by a famous director, Martin Scorsese. Shutter Island tells the story of two FBI agents who arrive at an island in the middle of the ocean, a prison housing mentally ill inmates.

Upon arrival, Special Agent Teddy believes that his wife's murderer is being held on the island. The longer he stays, the more he suspects that something is amiss on the island, and through witnesses and evidence, he concludes that the administrators are experimenting on the patients' brains. However, in the end, the truth is incredibly harsh. Teddy himself, whose real name is Laeddis, is a murderer and has become mentally ill, imagining the entire story on the island where he is confined.

Details:

• Release Year: 2010
• Production Company: Paramount
• Director: Martin Scorsese
• Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michele Williams
• IMDb Rating: 8.2

Psycho (translated: Psychopath) is a classic thriller directed by the master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. The film revolves around a secluded roadside motel where the murderer Norman Bates kills people and believes that his mother is the real killer.

With its captivating and mysterious plot, originating in 1960, Psycho has become a landmark in the thriller genre by incorporating multiple personality disorder into its storyline. What's important is that even if you know the film is about multiple personalities, you're still compelled and surprised by Alfred Hitchcock's masterful storytelling.

Details:

• Release Year: 1960
• Production Company: Universal
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin
• IMDb Rating:
  8.5

Another film in the Top 10 best movies about multiple personality disorder is The Machinist. The main character in the movie is Trevor - a chronically sleep-deprived mechanic who is extremely emaciated.

One day, Trevor encounters a mysterious new employee at the factory, who distracts him and causes him to accidentally sever a colleague's hand. Trevor tries to investigate the mysterious individual, only to discover that the person is himself. Everything gradually becomes clear; in the past, Trevor committed a fatal mistake that led to his insomnia and multiple personality disorder.

Details:

• Release Year: 2004
• Production Company: Paramount Classics
• Director: Brad Anderson
• Stars: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
• IMDb Rating: 7.7

Black Swan (translated as: Black Swan) is a film about the life of a dancer with burning dreams in her career. She gets the lead role in the play 'Swan Lake,' a ballet where she has to play both the white swan and the black swan. The white swan is gentle and innocent while the black swan is wicked and cruel.

But then a strange girl appears, trying everything to steal her role. To stop the person trying to steal her role, the main character kills her. But in the end, the whole incident is imagined by her. Perhaps partly due to the pressure of the role, partly due to anxiety, partly due to trying to empathize with the two contrasting roles, she imagined the terrible act, only to realize the knife she stabbed the woman with was actually on her own stomach.

Details:

• Release Year: 2010
• Production Company: Fox Searchlight
• Director: Darren Aronofsky
• Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel
• IMDb Rating: 8.0

One of the highly acclaimed films by the media since early 2017 until now is the movie Split. Split tells the story of Kevin - a man with dissociative identity disorder.

Inside Kevin, there are up to 23 different personalities, and he believes that kidnapping young girls will help awaken the 24th personality. The film was directed by the horror genius of Indian origin, M. Night Shyamalan, and features the brilliant acting of James McAvoy, becoming a phenomenon in 2017.

Details:

• Release Year: 2017
• Production Company: Universal
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Stars: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

Adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Robert Stevenson, the movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the oldest film in the Top 10 best movies about dissociative identity disorder. The film tells the story of two opposing sides within one person.

Dr. Jekyll found a way to transform into Hyde using a serum, to commit evil deeds without fear of being discovered. However, Jekyll gradually lost control to Hyde, even transforming into Hyde without the serum. In the end, realizing that he would permanently become Hyde, Jekyll decided to write a 'confession' letter. He ended the letter with the phrase: 'I bring my life to a close, and my work with it, as a consequence of the style in which it has been carried on'.

Details:

• Release Year: 1931
• Production Company: Paramount
• Director: Rouben Mamoulian
• Stars: Fredric March, Miriam Hopkins, Rose Hobart
• IMDb Rating: 7.7

In the movie Mr. Brooks, Brooks is a successful, wealthy gentleman with a peaceful and happy married life. However, behind the facade of the admired man lies a terrifying serial killer with many hidden psychological twists.

Details:

• Release Year: 2007
• Production Company: MGM
• Director: Bruce A. Evans
• Stars: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, William Hurt
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

Identity is a film about 10 strangers who coincidentally meet on a stormy night. Among them are a married couple with a young son, an actress and her chauffeur, a young couple on their way to Las Vegas to get married, a prostitute, and finally a police officer and his prisoner.
Whether by chance or design, they all end up stranded at the same motel... Then one by one, they are murdered. And of course, the culprit is a person with multiple personalities imagining this massacre.

Details:

• Release Year: 2003
• Production Company: Sony
• Director: James Mangold
• Stars: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet
• IMDb Rating: 7.3

Sybil is a film adaptation based on a book about the true story of a girl with multiple personalities. The film revolves around conversations between Sybil and her treating physician, including a boy named Sid who likes soccer around 7-8 years old and a mature French-speaking girl named Vicky at 13 years old.

Among her 13 personalities, there are 2 male personas, while the rest are female, and all personalities are at odds with each other. During the exploration of the cause, it was discovered that Sybil had been abused as a child. Though it sounds unbelievable, all 13 personalities of Sybil have proven it to be true.

Details:

• Release Year: 2007
• Production Company: Warner Bros. TV
• Director: Joseph Sargent
• Stars: Jessica Lange, Tammy Blanchard, Ron White
• IMDb Rating: 7.1