# Movies with mental illness theme



## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

I do alot of research on mental illnesses and it got me thinking about characters/films that portray mental health conditions to get a better insight about what each condition is, its syptoms and the affect on someones life it has and for those looking for information in a different form.

A Beautiful Mind - Schizophrenia, Paranoia
Numb - Depersonalisation/Derealisation disorder
The Beach - Self Harm, Schizophrenia
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Schrizophrenia
Girl Interupted - Borderline Personality Disorder
Copycat - Agorphobia
Session 9 - Anxiety
The Madness of King George - Dementia, acute intermittent porphyria
The Virgin Suicides - Depression, Suicide
Psycho - Multiple Personality Disorder
Fatal Attraction - Borderline Personality Disorder
A Clockwork Orange - Antisocial Personality Disorder
Silence Of The Lambs - Antisocial Personality Disorder​Natural Born Killers - Antisocial Personality Disorder
Basic Instinct - Narcisstic Personality Disorder

Have yet to find movies based on Bipolar Disorder.


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## LifeAprentis (Oct 12, 2011)

If your so serious about this Why not go to college and degree like, Psychology 

Or work at a Insanity Hospital( not kidding ) 

Warning: Do not become too obsessed with mental disorders 

Add "Criminal Minds", Oh and Lie to Me to the List

LifeAprentis


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## Lizono7 (Aug 19, 2011)

You should check out A Tale of Two Sisters. The movie's main character has a mental illnesss plus the movie has a really good plot. Also your obsession with mental illness themed movies is awesome.


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## mushr00m (May 23, 2011)

> If your so serious about this Why not go to college and degree like, Psychology
> 
> Or work at a Insanity Hospital( not kidding )
> 
> Warning: Do not become too obsessed with mental disorders


Thanks, I did consider it but decided it would not be a good idea, ive visited people in wards and spoken to many people who work in the M.H sector but I wouldn't be able to immerse myself in that kind of environment for a living. I am looking to take an access course in humanities though which covers psychology etc. 



> You should check out A Tale of Two Sisters. The movie's main character has a mental illnesss plus the movie has a really good plot. Also your obsession with mental illness themed movies is awesome.


Cheers mate, I will definitely look your film recommendation up, sounds good. I do have like for films which portray characters having faulty thinking patterns, I find these sorts of films incredibly interesting although I don't watch them too often though or ill get depressed. Nice 1.


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## Who (Jan 2, 2010)

Rachael Trilby said:


> Have yet to find movies based on Bipolar Disorder.


 The Devil and Daniel Johnston. I guess it's kind of cheating since it's a documentary about a real person, but it discusses his bipolar disorder a lot.


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## clicheguevara (Jul 27, 2011)

Wikipedia has a pretty long list of movies dealing with mental illness, including movies dealing with Bipolar Disorder

List of films featuring mental illness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hope this helps.


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## Whisperdream28 (Jul 5, 2011)

Lars and the Real Girl- delusional disorder

That is a very good movie, by the way.


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## 3053 (Oct 14, 2009)

FIGHT CLUB

Well, insomnia, to go all official. It's not really been boxed off but it IS about someone pretty fucked up. Like all of us!


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## CorgiGirl (Jan 3, 2011)

Whisperdream28 said:


> Lars and the Real Girl- delusional disorder
> 
> That is a very good movie, by the way.


I love that movie, especially how it showed what caused his delusions. 




I haven't seen it but I've heard that Iris is a really good movie. It deals with Alzheimer.


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## funnygirl (Oct 5, 2011)

Try the movie Prozac Nation. It's based on a memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel, about her depression during university. The title is misleading because prozac is barely brought up in the movie or memoir until the end. And the memoir uses a lot of big words, which was off-putting for me. Just sayin'.

Another good one is It's Kind of a Funny Story, based on the book by Ned Vizzini. It's about a high school student who goes to am adult psych ward after almost committing suicide. It's kinda like Girl, Interrupted in that the main character seems like the "normal" one.


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## birthday (Feb 6, 2011)

I saw the movie Spider many times but I still don't get it.


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## friendly80sfan (May 12, 2011)

Snow Cake - This is an amazing movie. I love it. One of the main characters has autism.


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## L'Empereur (Jun 7, 2010)

The Machinist


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## Swelly (Nov 3, 2011)

Great thread, I will be watching all of these!


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## talvikki (Mar 27, 2011)

I've watched recently: The Ward which is (in my opinion failed) attempt to portray dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder) and I Am Sam about autism (not an mental illness but I think it's worth watching).

That Wikipedia list seems quite inclusive.


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## Mutatio NOmenis (Jun 22, 2009)

Drop Dead Fred.

Just watch this

Drop Dead Fred


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## Nutkin (Nov 7, 2011)

The Snakepit.


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## LotusBlossom (Apr 2, 2011)

Black Swan.


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## Princessportent (Dec 2, 2011)

"Manic" features a character with bipolar. 

Others:

-Ordinary People (depression, suicidal ideation, hospitalization. Won the 1980 Oscar for Best Picture)
-Shutter Island (I won't tell you the main condition, or I might ruin the film for you)
-Primal Fear with Edward Norton (Dissociative Identity Disorder, or what used to be known as Multiple Personality Disorder)
-Sybil (DID)
-Child of Rage (Reactive Attachment Disorder and homicidal ideation)
-someone else mentioned autism, and I wouldn't consider it a mental illness exactly (maybe it technically is? With mental illness, I tend to think of conditions that are progressive or perhaps emotionally generated, such as Schizophrenia (progressive) - but maybe it's technically considered a mental illness?). It's a developmental delay, but if you want to count autism, then I'd recommend both "Temple Grandin" and "Rain Man"
-Phoebe in Wonderland (little girl has Tourette's, but also OCD)
-Taxi Driver (OCD along with many more problems)
-The Three Faces of Eve (DID)
-Thirteen (self-injury/ depression)
-House of Cards (autistic like fugue state, almost. Hard to explain. The little girl retreats into her self after watching her father die)
-The Good Son (I would say the kid played by Macauly Culkin is a little psychopath...make your own call )
-Identity with John Cusack
-K-PAX
-The Aviator (about Howard Hughes, so severe OCD)


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## Donkey D Kong (Feb 14, 2011)

Sybil - Dissociative Identity Disorder (based on a true story too)
Donnie Darko - Schizophrenia (although it's not the theme of the movie, the main character is a schizophrenic INFP)


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