Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

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200 Movies and Mental Illness A secondary character, the boy’s father, suffers from agitated, masked depression, and eventually abandons his son (who had already been abandoned by his mother) and commits suicide. Monster’s Ball (2002) Drama ΨΨΨΨ Emotionally jarring film about two lost, self-hating people who begin to experience emotion and face their pain through their relationship. Stars Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, the latter who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in this film. “It takes a human being to really see a human being.” Monster’s Ball Mosquito Coast, The (1986) Adventure ΨΨΨ Harrison Ford is an eccentric American inventor who flees the U.S. for Central America because of his paranoia. His diagnosis is never clearly stated, but Ford appears to be bipolar (although almost continually manic in the film). My First Wife (1984) Drama ΨΨ A moving and well-directed Australian film about a man who falls apart after his wife decides to leave him. Network (1976) Drama ΨΨΨ A veteran anchorman who has just been told he is being fired announces on national TV that he will commit suicide on the air in two weeks. Ratings soar. He eventually reneges on his promise but becomes the leader of a national protest movement. “... I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Newscaster Howard Beale in Network Nightmare Alley (1947) Crime ΨΨ Tyrone Power’s favorite film. Power plays a carnival huckster who teams up with an unethical psychologist to dupe the public. Memorable carnival “geek” scenes include biting the heads off chickens. Ordinary People (1980) Drama ΨΨΨΨ This film was Robert Redford’s debut as a director. It deals with depression, suicide, and family pathology and presents a sympathetic portrayal of a psychiatrist, played by Judd Hirsch. Conrad, the protagonist, would probably meet DSM-IV criteria for PTSD as well as depression. Outcry, The (1957) Drama ΨΨΨ Antonioni film about a man who becomes depressed and confused when he is rejected by his lover. Pollock (2000) Drama ΨΨΨ Ed Harris portrays the troubled painter, Jackson Pollack, who struggles with alcoholism and bipolar disorder. Rain (2001) Drama ΨΨ Coming-of-age New Zealand film about a young girl whose mother is a depressed alcoholic. Scent of a Woman (1992) Drama ΨΨΨ Al Pacino plays Colonel Slade, a depressed blind veteran who seems to have lost all meaning in his life until he is challenged by a younger man. Seventh Veil, The (1945) Drama ΨΨ Psychological drama about a gifted musician who loses the ability to play the piano and becomes depressed and suicidal. Hypnotherapy makes it possible for Ann Todd to play again, as well as to sort out her complex interpersonal relationships. Station Agent, The (2003) Drama/Comedy ΨΨΨΨ Heartwarming, honest story of three lonely and disparate characters who form a unique friendship with one another. The three characters are a schizoid dwarf whose only desire is isolation, a woman who has repeated conflicts with her husband and attempts suicide, and a talkative man from New Jersey. Good mix of both healthy and unhealthy coping approaches to loneliness and depression. Suicide Club (2002) Drama/Suspense ΨΨΨ Fifty-four young girls collectively jump in front of an oncoming subway train, which triggers individual and group suicides around the country. This mysterious Japanese film raises questions of cause, documenting links between suicide and adolescence, violence, and consumerism. Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973) Drama Ψ Joanne Woodward is a bored, depressed housewife searching for meaning and purpose in her life. The From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
Appendix G: Films Illustrating Psychopathology 201 film includes dreams that may be hallucinations, and a possible somatoform disorder. Sylvia (2003) Drama ΨΨ Gwenyth Paltrow portrays the life of respected American poet, Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide in 1963. Tenant, The (1976) Horror ΨΨΨΨ Roman Polanski film in which a man rents an apartment previously owned by a woman who committed suicide. The man begins to assume the personality of the woman and becomes suicidal himself. Umberto D. (1952) Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ Classic Vittorio De Sica film about an indigent old man in Rome who is being evicted and must face the prospects of homelessness and isolation. The old man fails a suicide attempt and finds a reason for living to continue to care for his dog. Vincent (1987) Biography/Documentary ΨΨΨ An interesting examination of the life of Vincent van Gogh. The focus is on the artist’s work rather than his mental illness. Vincent & Theo (1990) Biography ΨΨΨ This Robert Altman film deals sensitively with van Gogh’s troubled relationships with Gauguin and Theo, the incident with the prostitute and his ear, van Gogh’s hospitalization, and finally his suicide. Virgin Suicides, The (1999) Drama ΨΨ Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut about a repressed family with five daughters, who in response to their mother’s control, repression, and forced group isolation, decide to commit suicide. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002) Drama/Comedy ΨΨ Disappointing and highly stereotypic movie of both suicide and boundary-crossing psychotherapists. Perpetrates the misconception that love can conquer mental illness (in this case, multiple, severe suicide attempts). Woman Under the Influence, A (1974) Drama ΨΨΨ A John Cassavetes film in which Gena Rowlands plays a homemaker who has to be hospitalized because of a mental illness that appears to be bipolar disorder. Peter Falk plays her sympathetic but mystified husband. Wrong Man, The (1956) Crime ΨΨ Hitchcock film in which a man and his wife (Henry Fonda and Vera Miles) become depressed in response to an unjust accusation of murder. Personality Disorders 25 th Hour (2002) Drama ΨΨΨΨ A Spike Lee film about a young man (Edward Norton) about to go away to prison for 7 years for marijuana trafficking. In making the most of his final hours, he meets with his “recovering alcoholic” father, girlfriend, friends, and an “underground” boss and his henchmen. Look for tributes to 9/11 throughout the film (it was the first film to use Ground Zero as a film scene). Accidental Tourist, The (1988) Comedy ΨΨΨ William Hurt plays a withdrawn, unemotional writer whose isolation is compounded when his 12-year-son is senselessly murdered in a fast-food restaurant. Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Historical/Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ Klaus Kinski stars in this Werner Herzog film about the growing delusion of a grandiose Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding the lost cities of gold in the South American Amazon. Alfie (2004) Comedy ΨΨΨ Jude Law stars as a man with a narcissistic personality who prides himself in being a womanizer and not committing in relationships. Law’s asides to the audience provide insight into his narcissistic thinking. By the end of the film, Alfie begins to face the impact of his behavior on others. Amelie (2001) Comedy/Romance ΨΨΨΨΨ Audrey Tautou stars as Amelie, an avoidant woman who wants an intimate relationships with others but is unable to be direct. Upon deciding to change her life by making a difference in others’ lives, she adopts extreme and creative measures to bring joy to others and make connections. Brilliantly directed by the Frenchman Jean Pierre- Jeunet. American Beauty (1999) Comedy/Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ Kevin Spacey has the lead role in this remarkable film about a very dysfunctional family and the ennui that accompanies life in suburbia. Annette Bening plays a woman with a classic Histrionic From: Wedding, D., Boyd, M.A., & Niemiec, R.M. Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology © 2005 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers (www.hogrefe.com)
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