Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

214 Movies and Mental Illness
Dopamine (2003) Drama/Comedy ΨΨ
Independent film explores the chemistry behind
male-female relationships. One character uses amphetamine
pills and large quantities of caffeine. Interesting
debate on how physical attraction emerges.
“Most people don’t know how
they’re gonna feel from one
moment to the next. But a
dope fiend has a pretty good
idea. All you gotta do is
look at the labels on the little
bottles.”
Matt Dillon reflects on
the pleasures of drugs
in Drugstore Cowboy
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Matt Dillon leads a group of junkies who rob pharmacies
to support their habit. William Burroughs
plays a junkie priest.
Easy Rider (1969) Drama ΨΨΨ
Classic film of the late 1960s with Jack Nicholson
as an alcoholic lawyer and Peter Fonda and
Dennis Hopper as marijuana-smoking, LSDusing
free spirits. The film is dated but still
worth seeing.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Fantasy ΨΨ
Terry Gilliam’s adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s
Gonzo journalism classic. The book is better
than the film; although the movie does not glorify
drug use, it clearly models the behavior and
tacitly condones the practice of driving while
intoxicated.
Half Baked (1998) Comedy Ψ
Exaggerated comedy about smoking “weed.”
Interesting for its classification of different types
of marijuana smokers: “you should have been there
smoker,” the “scavenger,” the “enhancer,” the
“medicinal,” the “after school special,” the “father,
I’m 40 and still cool,” the “MacGyver smoker,” the
“straight-up potheads,” and the “I’m only creative
if I smoke” smoker.
Hatful of Rain, A (1957) Drama ΨΨ
Melodramatic film about the life and problems
of a drug addict. This was one of the earliest
films to honestly examine the problem of drug
addiction.
High Art (1998) Drama/Comedy ΨΨ
Realistic, well-acted independent film about
several people who’s lives intersect for drugs,
support, and conversation in a New York City
apartment.
I Don’t Buy Kisses Anymore (1992)
Comedy/Romance Ψ
Lightweight but entertaining film about an obese
male who falls in love with a woman using him as
a subject for her master’s thesis.
I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) Drama ΨΨ
Jill Clayburgh plays the role of a high-powered
documentary filmmaker who becomes addicted to
Valium and requires hospitalization in a special
program for addicts. Based on a true story.
Jungle Fever (1991) Drama/Romance ΨΨΨ
Interesting film about race relations and sexual
stereotypes, with a subplot involving Gator, the
crackhead brother of the protagonist, who is
destroying his middle-class family.
“The governor of Louisiana gave
me this. Madame Tinkertoy’s
House of Blue Lights, corner of
Bourbon and Toulouse, New
Orleans, Louisiana. Now, this is
supposed to be the finest
whorehouse in the south. These
ain’t no pork chops! These are
U.S. Prime!”
Jack Nicholson plans
for his trip to New Orleans
in Easy Rider
La Femme Nikita (1990) Action/Drama ΨΨ
Sociopathic and drug-addicted woman is sentenced
to die for murder and then is transformed
into a government agent. Most memorable for the
drugstore robbery that opens the film.
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Biography/Musical ΨΨ
Diana Ross plays heroin addict Billie Holiday.
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)