Buzz
Films occasionally hit the mark, but at other times, they miss entirely. When it comes to portraying sensitive topics like terrorism, tragedy, or mental health, there's a thin line between authenticity and absurdity. This list showcases highly debated films that effectively set the standard for representing mental disorders. [WARNING: Spoilers Ahead]
10. Matchstick Men—2003
Nicolas Cage has an impressive roster of films, and one of his standout roles is in the dark comedy Matchstick Men. In it, Cage plays Roy Waller, a conman grappling with OCD and Tourette syndrome. Alongside his partner Frank, Roy swindles unsuspecting victims by selling overpriced water filtration systems. However, when Roy suffers a sudden panic attack, Frank persuades him to seek help from a psychiatrist.
Roy's compulsive behaviors include excessive vacuuming and the need to open and shut a door three times before passing through it. His anxiety peaks when others disregard his rituals. Bright sunlight also worsens his Tourette's symptoms. Combine this with severe agoraphobia, and you get a memorable performance from a seasoned actor who truly captures the internal turmoil of his character. This is evident when he gazes at his hand after a phone number is written on it or when his teenage daughter casually cracks open a beer and takes a swig.
Nicolas Cage fully embodies the character of Roy Waller, showcasing his mastery of facial tics and loud outbursts, effectively radiating anxiety and paranoia.
9. Betty Blue—1986
Betty Blue kicks off with an intense, passionate romance between Zorg, a man in his thirties, and Betty, a 19-year-old woman. Their relationship starts off blissfully until a heated argument erupts, leading Betty to destroy their cozy love nest.
Things escalate as Betty sets the love shack on fire, prompting the couple to relocate to a quieter area near Paris. Betty's volatile temper continues to flare as she stabs a restaurant customer with a fork. Meanwhile, Zorg, struggling to get his writing career off the ground, faces rejection from publishers. He hides the rejection letters from Betty, but she uncovers one and retaliates by slashing the publisher's face.
As Betty's mental state unravels, she begins hearing voices, chopping off her hair, luring a child away from his mother, and eventually gouging out her own eye. Just as Zorg gets a phone call from a publisher expressing interest in his manuscript, a dark turn occurs—Zorg smothers Betty with a pillow, then returns home to finish his book that is soon to be published.
8. We Need To Talk About Kevin—2011
When We Need To Talk About Kevin hit theaters in 2011, it successfully sparked intense discussions, as intended. Adapted from Lionel Shriver’s novel, the film focuses on the unsettling symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder, aiming to both disturb and engage its audience.
From the very beginning, it is obvious that Kevin harbors a deep hatred for his mother, Eve. This seems to be a direct response to her own resentful feelings toward him. Once a frequent traveler for work, Eve now finds herself grounded at home, forced into the role of mother to a son who despises her. Kevin's behavior escalates, highlighted by a shocking moment when he pours drain cleaner into his six-year-old sister Celia’s face, resulting in her losing an eye.
The story takes a tragic and chilling turn when, at the age of fifteen, Kevin uses a crossbow to murder both his father and sister. He then locks a group of students in the gymnasium at his high school, where he kills them as well. Kevin is ultimately sent to a juvenile detention facility and diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. Although the film never explicitly labels him as a ‘psychopath,’ it’s clear that his violent actions stem from deeply disturbed and psychotic behavior.
7. Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte—1964
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a chilling psychological thriller starring Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. Davis portrays Charlotte Hollis, who plans to marry her already married lover, John Mayhew. Shortly after a heated argument with her father, John is brutally murdered, and his body is found in a summerhouse. Though everyone assumes Charlotte is the murderer, she is adamant that her father is the true culprit.
Fast forward to 1964, and Charlotte, now an affluent but reclusive older woman, begins to lose her grip on reality. She exhibits all the signs of someone descending into madness, teetering between moments of lucidity and intense hallucinations, influenced by her immediate environment. It's captivating to witness her unraveling psyche.
After her cousin Miriam (played by de Havilland) moves in, Charlotte begins hearing a harpsichord play a song John once composed for her and is haunted by the vision of his severed head. Upon discovering that Miriam had long known about John’s murder at the hands of his wife and had been blackmailing her for years, Charlotte kills Miriam. In the film's final scene, as Charlotte is being transported to an asylum, she receives an envelope containing John's wife’s confession of the murder.
6. Gaslight—1944
Gaslighting, as a psychological manipulation term, wasn’t coined in 2020. Its origin dates back to the 1944 film Gaslight, where a husband strategically undermines his wife's perception of reality, making her believe she's losing her mind. After winning her over and marrying her, he isolates her from society and subtly manipulates her environment—dimming the lights, making objects vanish and reappear—until she’s convinced of her own insanity.
The shocking twist in this story is that Paula, the wife, is not the one suffering from a mental disorder. Her husband, Gregory, is the one with the psychological issues and shows many signs of being a psychopath. The film powerfully portrays the lasting effects of gaslighting, leaving Paula uncertain of what is real and what is not. In the final moments, she even questions if the knife in her hand is just a product of her imagination.
5. Black Swan—2010
Black Swan tells the story of Nina, a ballerina played by Natalie Portman, who is vying for the lead role in a production of Swan Lake. Her primary rival is Lily, a newcomer played by Mila Kunis.
Nina struggles with a toxic relationship with her narcissistic mother and has psychological issues that lead to self-harm. However, the film makes it challenging to distinguish which of Nina's injuries are real and which are merely figments of her crumbling mind.
Nina is in constant fear, grappling with hallucinations that blur the line between reality and delusion. It becomes evident that she also suffers from obsessive-compulsive tendencies and an eating disorder. Natalie Portman’s brilliant portrayal draws the audience deep into Nina’s fractured psyche, keeping them on edge as she battles to preserve her sanity. Her performance earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in this riveting film.
4. A Beautiful Mind—2001
A Beautiful Mind is a biographical film about John Nash, a brilliant mathematician from Princeton and Nobel Laureate, based on Sylvia Nasar’s bestselling biography of his life.
At the age of around thirty, Nash began showing signs of schizophrenia, experiencing delusions and paranoia. Over the years, he was frequently hospitalized and struggled with adhering to his anti-psychotic medication.
In the film, Russell Crowe brilliantly portrays Nash, a man who constantly battles with paranoid schizophrenic hallucinations and struggles to maintain control over his mind. Nash stops taking his medication due to its severe side effects, leading to a relapse. This relapse causes him to leave his infant son in a bathtub with running water. His wife, Alicia, saves the baby, but Nash’s delusions become evident when he insists that his imaginary friend 'Charles' was watching their child. Eventually, Nash realizes the three people he constantly sees are not real. However, he refuses to restart his medication and learns to ignore the hallucinations. This approach works for him, and he is eventually allowed to teach again. In 1994, he wins the Nobel Prize. When he accepts the award in Stockholm, his hallucinations return, but Nash confronts them with quiet defiance, briefly acknowledging them before leaving the auditorium.
3. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest—1962
Kirk Douglas adapted Ken Kesey’s classic novel, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, for Broadway, taking on the lead role of RP McMurphy. His son, Michael Douglas, went on to produce the film alongside Saul Zaentz. Filming took place in a real mental hospital in Oregon, and Douglas assembled a stellar cast featuring Louise Fletcher, Danny DeVito, and Jack Nicholson.
The story unfolds in a chaotic mental hospital, where RP McMurphy initially pretends to be insane to escape a jail sentence. However, after assaulting a staff member, he is subjected to electroconvulsive therapy as punishment. His greatest foe, Nurse Ratched, is gradually exposed as a manipulative, scheming figure.
Other patients include ‘Chief’ Bromden, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and believes Nurse Ratched is a machine, and Billy Bibbet, whose severe stuttering is rooted in a strained relationship with his mother. George Sorenson suffers from an overwhelming fear of dirt, while Martini is constantly experiencing hallucinations.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest achieved tremendous success, winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
2. Joker—2019
Set in 1981, the story of Joker revolves around Arthur Fleck, whose descent into madness and despair becomes the catalyst for his transformation. Joaquin Phoenix portrays Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian whose struggles with mental health drive him into a life of crime.
Living with his mother in Gotham City, Fleck suffers from Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA), which causes him to laugh at inappropriate moments. After being attacked by three wealthy men from Wayne Enterprises, he retaliates by killing them. This leads to outrage when mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne condemns the murders, sparking protests and budget cuts that leave Fleck without his crucial medication.
Upon discovering his mother's deception about his adoption, Fleck's mental state unravels further, leading him to kill her. His violent path continues as he murders his co-worker, Randall, and a talk show host who mocks his condition. In the film's climax, rioters free Fleck from police custody, and he performs a triumphant dance for the crowd, basking in their cheers.
Joker earned 11 nominations at the Oscars, with Joaquin Phoenix taking home the Best Actor award at the 2020 ceremony.
1. Psycho—1960
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock is regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. His legacy includes iconic films like The Birds, Dial M For Murder, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and, of course, Psycho.
Psycho is forever linked to the infamous shower scene, yet it is also hailed as one of the first slasher films and one of Hitchcock's finest works. Many critics agree that the character of Norman Bates, portrayed by Anthony Perkins, is a hauntingly accurate depiction of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).
Bates' inability to confront the trauma of losing his father and killing his mother, Norma, leads him to develop DID as a means of escaping his overwhelming guilt.
He engages in conversations with the corpse of his mother, with his 'Norma' personality growing violently jealous of any woman Norman is attracted to, leading to murder. When Norma fully dominates his psyche, he dresses as her and indulges her bloodlust.
