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206 Movies and Mental Illness Guy. Sy collects photographs from a customer’s family and finds meaning through their lives until he discovers they are not the perfect family. “The things we fear the most have already happened to us.” Robin Williams as Sy, the Photo Guy in One Hour Photo Paper Moon (1973) Comedy/Drama ΨΨ Fun Peter Bogdanovich film, with Ryan O’Neal and daughter Tatum working together as a pair of con artists in the early 1930s. Pacific Heights (1990) Drama/Suspense ΨΨΨ Michael Keaton plays a classic antisocial personality who becomes a tenant of a Victorian home and refuses to leave or pay rent, reaping significant havoc. Phone Booth (2003) Action/Suspense ΨΨ A one-dimensional, narcissistic New Yorker begins to unravel as he is manipulated and forced to stay on the phone on the busy streets of Manhattan with a serial killer (Kiefer Sutherland). Worth seeing for the ending which cinematically shows the deep wounds underlying many narcissistic personality disorders. Pumpkin Eater, The (1964) Drama ΨΨ Most memorable for the scene in which Anne Bancroft, responding to the stress of eight children and an unfaithful husband, breaks down in Harrods. Rampage (1992) Drama/Thriller ΨΨΨ A film that explores the insanity defense, sociopathy, and mass murder. Directed by William Friedkin, who was also the director for The Exorcist. Remains of the Day (1994) Romance /Drama ΨΨΨΨ Anthony Hopkins plays a butler whose rigid personality will not allow him to experience intimacy or genuine love. Few films have been more effective in presenting this reserved, over-controlled, and limiting personality type. Rick (2003) Comedy/Drama ΨΨΨ Satirical comedy starring Bill Pullman as Rick, a narcissistic corporate executive who is self-serving, misanthropic, and cruel. The film has strong independent cinema elements. Roger Dodger (2002) Comedy ΨΨΨ Manhattan executive teaches his 16-year-old nephew about women in one night by taking him to the streets of New York. Great portrayal of narcissism. Royal Tenenbaums, The (2001) Comedy ΨΨΨΨ Dark comedy classic about highly dysfunctional Tenenbaum family where the parents (Gene Hackman and Angelica Huston) raise three genius children (Ben Stiller, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Luke Wilson) who develop significant problems (paranoia/anger, depression/incest, dependency/suicidal thoughts/incest, respectively). The family is reunited when the narcissistic father returns home stating he is dying of stomach cancer. We are left to see the dysfunctional dynamics of the family take place in comical form. Schizotypal personality is also portrayed (Owen Wilson)—a cinematic rarity. Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) Crime ΨΨΨΨ A British film in which Kim Stanley plays a medium who persuades her husband (Richard Attenborough) to kidnap a child so they can then use her power of clairvoyance to “find” the missing child. Servant, The (1963) Drama ΨΨΨ Joseph Losey film in which a wealthy British gentleman and his manservant wind up switching roles. There are strong homosexual overtones in the relationship between the two men, and a complex relationship develops with two women. The film is an interesting examination of dominance and submission. Sexy Beast (2001) Drama ΨΨΨ Ben Kingsley portrays a brutal antisocial personality who is anything but sexy. The Shape of Things (2003) Comedy ΨΨΨ Disturbing comedy of a woman who helps transform an anxious, insecure man through physical alteration and love only to later reveal it was all a manipulative, self-serving project. Another film by director Neil LaBute who has been appropriately nicknamed by some film critics as Neil La-Brute because of his often brutal character portrayal of people or society. Shattered Glass (2003) Drama ΨΨΨ Based on a true story of a young journalist for the popular New Republic magazine, Stephen Glass (well acted by Hayden Christensen), who in 1998 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 207 made up several of his published stories. He was fraudulent with people, places, and events, making up fake business cards, notes, websites, numbers, and voice mails. Great depiction of “the antisocial in trouble,” where the person becomes neurotic and remorseful. The “real” Glass, a self-proclaimed “pathological liar” in reference to the events in the film, admits that 27 of his 41 published magazine stories were partially or completely made up. “I wanted every story to be a home run.” The real Stephen Glass in a “60 Minutes” interview, speaking of being out of control and doing anything to please the readers Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) Personality Disorders ΨΨΨ Sir Anthony Hopkins plays one of film history’s greatest antisocial personalities, psychiatrist and cannibal Hannibal Lector. Jodi Foster is the FBI agent. “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” The Silence of the Lambs Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) Suspense ΨΨ Julia Roberts plays the battered wife of a possessive and sadistic husband played by Patrick Bergin. Roberts fakes her death and assumes a new identity in a desperate attempt to escape. Small Time Crooks (2000) Comedy Ψ Woody Allen plays a “foolish antisocial” who devises a plan to rob a bank with his not-so-bright pals. Hugh Grant plays a manipulative, charming, self-serving narcissist. Sneakers (1992) Drama/Comedy ΨΨ This film has a star cast that includes Dan Akroyd, who plays an ex-convict with paranoid traits who sees conspiracy in almost every situation. Speed (1994) Drama ΨΨ Dennis Hopper plays a deranged sociopath who programs a bomb to explode if a city bus slows to less than 50 miles per hour. Stagecoach (1939) Western ΨΨΨ Classic John Ford movie, with Thomas Mitchell playing a drunken physician. Mitchell won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. Strangers on a Train (1951) Thriller ΨΨΨΨΨ Classic Hitchcock film in which Farley Granger is unable to extricate himself from his involvement with sociopath Robert Walker. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951) Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ Elia Kazan film starring Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh. Blanche DuBois offers a striking example of a histrionic personality. Brando is unforgettable in the role of Stanley Kowalski. “They’re dead, they’re finished! There was a time in this business when they had the eyes of the whole wide world. But that wasn’t good enough for them. Oh, no. They had to have the ears of the world, too. So they opened their big mouths, and out came talk. Talk! Talk!” Sunset Blvd. Sunset Blvd. (1950) Drama ΨΨΨΨ Billy Wilder film in which a narcissistic, histrionic, and delusional Gloria Swanson clings to the memories of her former greatness as a silent screen star. William Holden plays a young man who exchanges attention and sexual favors for security. Swimfan (2002) Drama/Suspense Ψ Girl’s one-night-stand with a fellow classmate shifts from infatuation to the “If I can’t have you, no one will” belief. Swimming With Sharks (1994) Comedy ΨΨ Dark comedy with Kevin Spacey as a nasty, heartless, business executive who is held hostage and tortured by an employee he has verbally abused over the years. 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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