Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

202 Movies and Mental Illness
Personality Disorder. Almost every character exhibits
some degree of psychopathology. The film is
a compelling examination of what Freud called the
psychopathology of everyday life.
American History X (1998) Drama/
Suspense ΨΨΨ
Edward Norton plays an antisocial, white supremacist
who decides to change his life when he sees his
younger brother is following his example.
American Psycho (1999) Drama/Suspense ΨΨΨ
Christian Bale is Patrick Bateman, a narcissistic
Wall Street executive, who emphasizes excess and
style over substance in everything from business
cards and facial cleansers to restaurant selection
and conversation. He is depicted as a serial killer
who saves the victim’s heads in his refrigerator.
However, there is enough cinematic evidence to
suggest that there were no murders at all, and
everything in the film simply reflects the fantasies
of an antisocial mind.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Jimmy Stewart as an attorney defending a man
accused of murder. His case rests on the contention
that the defendant could not help behaving as he did
because the man he murdered had allegedly raped
his wife. The film raises interesting questions about
the irresistible impulse defense.
Anything Else (2003) Comedy ΨΨ
Woody Allen film about a young man with
dependent personality who falls for an erratic
young woman (Christina Ricci).
“See where I’m standing? That’s
where I’m from.”
Robert Duvall as Sonny
in The Apostle
Apostle, The (1997) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Robert Duvall directs, writes, and stars as a philandering
but dedicated minister who flees his hometown
after committing a violent act. His redemptive
journey takes him to a small town where he
builds a ministry until his past catches up with him.
Apt Pupil (1998) Drama/Suspense ΨΨΨ
A high school student becomes fascinated with his
discovery of a man (Ian McKellan) who was formerly
a Nazi henchman for Hitler. McKellan is living
(and hiding out) in a local town. The student
manipulates the man to tell him detailed stories of
the man’s previous work.
“To the whole world I am a
monster.”
Ian McKellan as an escaped Nazi
in Apt Pupil
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Comedy ΨΨ
Frank Capra film about Cary Grant’s two aunts
who practice mercy killing by giving their gentlemen
guests poisoned elderberry wine. Grant worries
about the fact that mental illness not only runs
in his family, it gallops!
Bad Santa (2003) Comedy Ψ
This Terry Zwigoff film stars Billy Bob Thornton as
a rule breaking, crass alcoholic who works as Santa
Claus at a department store. The female co-star has
a “Santa fetish.”
Bad Seed, The (1956) Drama Ψ
Interesting examination of whether or not evil is
congenital.
Bartleby (2001) Comedy ΨΨΨΨ
This dark comedy brilliantly casts Crispin Glover
as the aloof, quirky clerk, Bartleby, who repeats the
same phrase “I would prefer not to” when asked to
work. Ironically colorful set design and a hodgepodge
of quirky personalities as supporting cast.
This is clearly a “love it or hate it” film, based on
a short story by Herman Melville. Bartleby’s character
is a classic depiction of a person with a
schizoid personality.
Bartleby (1970) Comedy ΨΨΨ
Original, black and white, version of the Herman
Melville short story, Bartleby the Scrivener. More
slow, dark, and dreary than its recent counterpart, yet
still an excellent depiction of schizoid personality.
Believer, The (2001) Drama ΨΨΨ
Fascinating character study of Danny Burrows
who is living his life in an impossible contradiction
as a Jewish Nazi. As he faces his true self, his ruthless
antisocial characteristics begin to crumble.
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)