Films Illustrating Psychopathology Danny Wedding Mary Ann Boyd ...

Appendix G: Films Illustrating Psychopathology 253
is simultaneously a group therapy patient (as a
male) and, unknown to Willis, his lover (in a core
personality named Rose).
Couch Trip, The (1988) Comedy Ψ
Dan Aykroyd plays the role of a psychiatric
patient who escapes from an institution and then
passes himself off as a Beverly Hills psychiatrist.
The film reinforces the notion that psychiatry
is mainly pretentious language and social
manipulation.
Dark Past, The (1948) Crime ΨΨΨ
A psychologist who is taken prisoner tries to use
his training to help his captor. Remake of the film
Blind Alley.
Dead Man Out (1989) Drama ΨΨ
Superior and timely made-for-TV movie about a
psychiatrist treating a convict so the man will be sane
enough to be executed. The film raises meaningful
questions about ethical issues and the appropriate
limits of professional practice.
Jack McDermott: “What about
dinner? Who’s gonna get us our
dinner?”
Billy: “... aren’t you the same guy
who changed water into wine?
Huh? J.C.? Ain’t the son of God
good for a burger in his town?
You get us something!”
The Dream Team
Dream Team, The (1989) Comedy ΨΨ
Four psychiatric patients are being taken to a
game in Yankee Stadium when their doctor/escort
is knocked unconscious and hospitalized. The
entire film appears to be based on the well-known
(and better done) shipboard outing by Jack
Nicholson and his friends in One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest.
Face to Face (1976) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Liv Ullmann plays a psychiatrist whose life is
falling apart. She attempts suicide by taking an
overdose and winds up in a coma. Interesting
dream sequences with Bergman’s usual presumption
of childhood trauma as the trigger for adult
unhappiness.
Fear Strikes Out (1957) Biography/Sports ΨΨΨ
Anthony Perkins as baseball player Jimmy
Piersall, who suffers a mental breakdown as a
result of his inability to please a domineering,
demanding father. Piersall was successfully treated
with psychotherapy and ECT and eventually
staged a comeback.
“Just repeat the last two words
they say and phrase it like a
question.”
Psychiatrist Richard Gere jokes
about his profession
in Final Analysis
Final Analysis (1992) Thriller/Drama ΨΨ
A complex film that pays homage to Hitchcock;
interesting issues of childhood sexual abuse,
repressed memories, professional responsibility,
and the doctor-patient relationship.
Fine Madness, A (1966) Drama ΨΨΨ
Sean Connery plays Samson Shillitoe, an eccentric
and unconventional poet who is hospitalized and
lobotomized because of his sexual peccadilloes
and the fact that he can’t conform to societal
expectations. The film was ahead of its time in
raising important issues about the rights of people
with mental illness.
Flame Within, The (1935) Drama Ψ
Dated and insipid film about a psychiatrist who
falls in love with a patient.
Frances (1982) Biography ΨΨΨΨΨ
A vivid portrayal of the life of actress Frances
Farmer, including her institutionalization, lobotomy,
and alcoholism.
Good Will Hunting (1997) Drama ΨΨΨΨ
Robin Williams won an Academy Award as Best
Supporting Actor for his role as a counseling psychologist
teaching at a community college and
treating a troubled young man who is extraordinarily
gifted mathematically.
High Anxiety (1977) Comedy ΨΨ
Mel Brooks spoofs Hitchcock films and introduces
The Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very, Very
Nervous.
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)