Top 10 Movies That Depict Mental Illness
Sometimes a character's anguish, paranoia, depression or madness simply jumps off the screen. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we countdown the Top 10 Movies That Depict Mental Illness.
For this list, we've assembled a collection of movies in which mental illness is central to the plot and which show it in a nuanced way.
Special thanks to our user jwiking62 for submitting the idea on our Interactive Suggestion Tool at http://www.WatchMojo.comsuggest
Top 10 Movies That Depict Mental Illness
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Sometimes a character’s anguish, paranoia, depression or madness simply jumps off the screen. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down the top 10 movies that depict mental illness. For this list, we’ve assembled a collection of movies in which mental illness is central to the plot and which show it in a nuanced way.
#10: “The Deer Hunter” (1978)
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Starring a plethora of great American actors like Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and Christopher Walken, this post-Vietnam War drama revolves around 3 Russian American steelworkers and their memories of the war. It also explores the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, on the soldiers and the people around them. We find them in ‘60s Pennsylvania as they try to lead normal lives, but they are unfortunately still plagued by what they lived through while serving their country. Thanks to its themes, emotional performances and original vision, “The Deer Hunter” won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, as well as Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken.
#9: “Lars and the Real Girl” (2007)
In this sweet indie dramedy, Ryan Gosling once again gets cast against type to play Lars - a loveable introvert with a deep desire to connect to people, but with an even bigger fear of attempting to. So instead, he orders a sex doll, and gives it a name and a back-story. His concerned family takes him to a psychologist, who suggests they treat her as real - and the whole town soon follows suit. Along with his delusions, Lars’ mental illness also has symptoms of schizoid personality disorder, which manifest itself in his solitary lifestyle and rich internal fantasy world. His new companion, Bianca, is ultimately a tool to help him overcome his emotional coldness and what happened to him in the past. Lars is one of Gosling’s best performances, and the movie itself earned an Oscar nod for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).
#8: “Benny & Joon” (1993)
If you’re a ‘90s kid, then chances are that every time you hear The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” you think of this movie. Benny, played by Aidan Quinn, is the older brother of the mentally ill Joon. He is also her caregiver following their parents’ accidental deaths. The siblings are soon introduced to Sam, a cinephile with an odd personality, who also happens to be illiterate. Despite Sam’s eccentricities and Joon’s outbursts, the two immediately connect. Essentially a romantic comedy about two social misfits, “Benny & Joon” was definitely one of the few in this genre for a long time. While Sam and Joon’s mental conditions may make them stand out from society at large, at least they’ve got each other.
#7: “Shine” (1996)
Our next entry is a biopic about famed pianist David Helfgott, played by the great Geoffrey Rush. A child prodigy, Helfgott grew up with a father who didn’t tolerate failure and who wanted his son to be as highly competitive as he was. At the age of 19, he is sent to the Royal College of Music where he started to exhibit manifestations of schizoaffective disorder. After winning the Concerto competition, things get worse, as Helfgott suffers a mental breakdown and subsequently spends years in and out of mental institutions. Although the film’s accuracy is disputed, the biographical drama was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival and won Rush a deserved Best Actor Oscar for his performance.
#6: “Melancholia” (2011)
If you know Danish director Lars von Trier, then you know his films are not the easiest to digest, although this next entry is probably his most widely seen movie. Starring Kirsten Dunst (keersten) and Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Melancholia” revolves around two sisters named Justine and Claire and follows what happens during and after the former’s wedding. Although such a seemingly happy event is occurring in their family, there is also tragedy of epic proportions looming – and this tragedy comes in the form of a rogue planet that may or may not collide with Earth. The film is essentially a metaphor for depression, and was based on the director’s own experience with it, particularly through the character of Justine.
#5: “Girl, Interrupted” (1999)
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The next movie on our list is about a female patient named Susanna Kaysen, played by Winona Ryder, and her year and a half stay at a mental institution. Based on Kaysen’s memoir, the drama also stars Angelina Jolie, Elisabeth Moss, Whoopi Goldberg and Brittany Murphy. Kaysen is hospitalized for attempting suicide, and is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. While at the institution, she becomes particularly infatuated with a manipulative sociopath - Jolie’s Lisa Rowe - who takes special pleasure in influencing the women around her. Although the film received mixed reviews, it is still remembered for Jolie’s performance, which earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
#4: “Black Swan” (2010)
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Up next is a psychological thriller about a ballerina whose ambitions make her lose her mind. “Black Swan” revolves around a modern production of the classic Tchaikovsky ballet “Swan Lake,” in which the director wants to have the same ballerina play both the white and the black swan. Natalie Portman is Nina, who is the favorite, but she doesn’t quite grasp the sensuality of the black swan, at least not the way newcomer Lily, played by Mila Kunis, does. This makes Nina paranoid that she’ll lose the part, and she soon begins to show signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, delusions, and an array of eating disorders. The film became a surprise box-office success and earned Portman the Best Actress Academy Award.
#3: “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012)
Our next entry was one of the most successful films of 2012, and showed audiences that Bradley Cooper could be a serious actor too. Directed by David O. Russell, the film was adapted from the novel by Matthew Quick and centers on the life of Pat Solitano Jr., a man who tries to piece his life back together after suffering a mental breakdown. Pat was also treated for bipolar disorder, and upon his release from the mental institution, he moves back in with his parents. He is later introduced to the recently widowed Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence. The romantic comedy-drama was a success with critics and audiences alike. It was also one of the first movie since “Benny & Joon” to successfully mix romantic comedy with a serious topic like mental illness.
#2: “A Beautiful Mind” (2001)
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This next movie is a biopic based on the life of mathematician John Nash, portrayed here by Russell Crowe. The film focuses mostly on his life after he is approached by the Pentagon to help them crack the Soviet telecommunication code. Eventually, Nash becomes obsessed with searching for hidden messages and begins to think he is being followed. In many ways, his paranoid schizophrenia was probably fuelled by his passion and mathematical genius, but the film was criticized for misrepresenting his life. However, it was adored by audiences and won four Academy Awards. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - “Take Shelter” (2011) - “Sybil” (1976) - “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006) - “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) - “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)
#1: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
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Our number one choice was based on the same-name novel by Ken Kesey and stars Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Louise Fletcher. In this drama, Nicholson plays Randle McMurphy, a man accused of the statutory rape of a 15 year-old girl who is sent to a mental institution in Oregon. While there, he notices that the doctors are focused more on sedating the patients than helping them become healthy members of society again. The film remains a timeless cinematic achievement in its telling of a story of human courage and determination not only in the face of mental illness, but of dictatorship too. It won in all five major categories at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Nicholson’s performance. Do you agree with our list? What is your favorite film depiction of mental illness? For more entertaining top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
