Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

Appendix G: Films Illustrating Psychopathology 211
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Nicholas Cage delivers a stunning performance as
an alcoholic who has no interest in quitting. He
develops a relationship with a prostitute (Elisabeth
Shue) who is the first to truly understand him.
Gripping alcohol dependence portrayal with
painful delirium tremens on screen.
“You can never, never ask me to
stop drinking. Do you understand?”
Nicolas Cage gives instructions
to Elisabeth Shue in
Leaving Las Vegas
Legend of Bagger Vance, The (2000)
Drama/Inspiration ΨΨΨ
Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, a talented
golfer whose game has deteriorated because of
his war experiences. He isolates himself,
drinks heavily, and plays cards all night. He
returns to golf in a promotional event against
the top two golfers in the game with the help of
an inspirational caddy and mentor, Bagger
Vance (Will Smith).
Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, The (1987)
Romance ΨΨ
Maggie Smith plays a lonely alcoholic who mistakenly
believes she has a last chance to find love
and meaning in her life.
Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962)
Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ
Alcohol is a part of daily life for this deeply
troubled family. Numerous examples of family
pathology, conflict between father and sons,
and denial.
Lost Weekend, The (1945) Drama ΨΨΨΨΨ
Billy Wilder classic starring Ray Milland as a
writer struggling to overcome his alcoholism.
Some scenes were filmed at Bellevue, and the
examples of delirium tremens are very convincing.
Polanski borrowed scenes from The Lost Weekend
as models for his film Repulsion.
Love and Diane (2002) Documentary ΨΨ
A mother recovers from an addiction to crack as
she attempts to start a new life and connect with
the children she had abandoned.
Maria, Full of Grace (2004) Drama ΨΨΨ
Fascinating, independent film depicting the realities
and dangers young girls from Colombia face as they
take jobs as “mules,” smuggling drugs into the
United States by swallowing them in large latex
packages. While this film is not about substance
abuse, it depicts the drug trade and problems related
to ingesting drugs for illegal purposes.
“It shrinks my liver, doesn’t it,
Nat? It pickles my kidneys, yeah.
But what it does to the mind? It
tosses the sandbags overboard
so the balloon can soar.
Suddenly I’m above the ordinary.
I’m competent. I’m walking a
tightrope over Niagara Falls. I’m
one of the great ones.”
Don Birnam talking to his
bartender about what it feels like
to be drunk in The Lost Weekend
My Favorite Year (1982) Comedy ΨΨΨ
A great actor (modeled after John Barrymore and
Errol Flynn) who has become a pathetic drunk
must confront one of the greatest challenges of his
career—a live television performance.
My Name Is Bill W. (1989) ΨΨ
Made-for-TV movie about the founding of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Comedy ΨΨ
One of the best of a hundred or so college films
that portray fraternity life as a series of beer busts
interspersed with an occasional class. At one point,
John Belushi, not the brightest of the fraternity
brothers, chugs a fifth of Jack Daniels.
Night of the Iguana, The (1964) Drama ΨΨ
Richard Burton and Ava Gardner star in John
Huston’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ play.
Burton plays a very convincing alcoholic and
erstwhile clergyman.
Pay It Forward (2000) Drama/Inspiration ΨΨ
Haley Joel Osment plays a seventh grader implementing
a class assignment that has profound
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)