The 10 best examinations of mental health in cinema history
Cinema is the perfect medium in which to examine the nature and consequences of poor mental health. For instance, cinema is a combination of sound, image and dialogue, all of which can be used to portray a mental state in different ways.
Production techniques such as camera work are also vital to creating a sense of claustrophobia or insanity when the subject of a film is suffering from a decline in their mental stability. Several films have successfully captured the experience of poor mental health over the years.
As the great Carrie Fisher once said: “We have been given a challenging illness, and there is no other option than to meet those challenges. Think of it as an opportunity to be heroic—not ‘I survived living in Mosul during an attack’ heroic, but an emotional survival. An opportunity to be a good example to others who might share our disorder”.
Today is World Mental Health Day, so we’re going to take a closer look at some of the most accurate examinations of mental health to date, including the works of Ingmar Bergman, Darren Aronofsky and Martin Scorsese.
See the full list below.
The best movie examinations of mental health:
Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998)
Darren Aronofsky‘s feature-length directorial debut, Pi, told the story of an obsessive mathematician who borders on the edge of insanity as he tries to find order in a chaotic world.
Max Cohen, played by Sean Gullette, is in constant battle with himself as he attempts to reconcile the imperfect irrationality of human beings and religion with the perfect exactitude of mathematics, number theory and the constant of pi.
Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)
A provocative filmmaker who isn’t afraid to tackle the heaviest topics of human existence, Lars von Trier’s 2011 film Melancholia tells the story of two sisters whose relationship is put to the test when the Earth faces a catastrophic threat. An admittedly bleak piece of cinema, Melancholia is also a painfully accurate depiction of how depression can feel, with Kirsten Dunst pulling off a sublime performance.
Although much of her character’s depression is kept beneath the surface, Dunst expresses her grief with a physical heaviness that translates to the feeling of a debilitating mental condition.
The Homesman (Tommy Lee Jones, 2014)
Mental illness lies at the very core of Tommy Lee Jones’ exquisitely meditative western. When Mary Bee Cuddy (played by Hilary Swank) encounters Jones’ George Briggs, she enlists his help to help transport three separate women affected by what was known at the time as ‘prairie fever’ — a form of mental breakdown experienced by people shocked by the desolation and isolation of the Great Plains.
On their journey cross-country to a church that takes care of the mentally ill, we learn that Cuddy herself is a 31-year-old spinster and incredibly lonely. When even Briggs, an ageing and out-of-shape criminal, rejects her advances, we realise the extent of the profound depression she’s been harbouring — with tragic results.
Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, 1997)
Perfect Blue is based on the Yoshikazu Takeuchi novel of the same name. Satoshi Kon’s film focuses on a member of a Japanese pop band who leaves the group to turn her attention and talent to acting.
However, Mima’s life is soon plagued by a stalker, and murders begin to occur around her. In fact, these events lead to Mima coming very close to losing her mind, and the distinction between reality and fantasy becomes severely blurred.
Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
One of the first films to closely examine the consequences of poor mental health, Ingmar Bergman’s Persona has been the subject of academic criticism and interpretation since its release in the mid-1960s. It explores the nature of personality, identity and insanity.
The film focuses on a young nurse named Alma and a renowned actress named Elisabet, who is also Alma’s patient and has recently lost the ability to speak. However, after Elisabet confides in her, Alma starts to lose the distinction between her patient and herself.
Blonde (Andrew Dominik, 2022)
Although many critics felt that it was a hollow and feeble attempt at contemporary feminism, Andrew Dominik’s biopic of Marilyn Monroe managed to capture the life of someone constantly in the throes of a traumatic childhood whilst simultaneously being one of the most famous people in the world.
Whilst arguably it was another biopic that perhaps over-tragedised a celebrity life once more, Ana de Armas’ performance was spellbinding, as were the camerawork and the exquisite score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
When looking for a film to sum up the mood of the turn of the millennium, it is difficult to look beyond David Fincher’s adaptation of the acclaimed Chuck Palahniuk novel Fight Club.
Through the unnamed narrator, we experience a descent into madness caused arguably by the onslaught of contemporary consumerism, the bright lights, the constant advertising, and the never-ending stream of new and improved products. In fact, the Narrator’s mind is so saturated with data that he has to create an illusory alter ego (Tyler Durden) to escape it.
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
One of cinema’s most iconic and memorable mental health examinations came in Martin Scorsese’s inimitable Taxi Driver. In this portrayal of a severe mental decline, few characters are as celebrated as Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle.
The film follows Bickle as he takes a job as a taxi driver in New York City, having been honourably discharged from the Vietnam War. However, his PTSD causes insomnia, and he longs to clear the New York streets of the delinquency that he observes.
American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)
Marry Harron perfectly captured (if not improved) Bret Easton Ellis’ highly-lauded and controversial 1991 novel. Christian Bale plays the psychopathic banker-come-serial killer Patrick Bateman.
As with Ellis’ novel, the film adaptation of American Psycho portrays a character who is evidently seriously unwell. And so, too, like the novel, Harron’s film leaves us void of answers for Bateman’s feelings about the world and his actions. Yet this, in its own right, is a fascinating examination of mental health, as it does not always make clear sense.
Dead Man’s Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2004)
Shane Meadow’s tense yet tender film Dead Man’s Shoes captured the regret of a brother whose disabled younger sibling is bullied to the point of suicide. Like many of Meadows’ works, the film is set in the midlands, this time in Matlock, Derbyshire.
Paddy Considine plays Richard, who returns to the town to take revenge on those who bullied his brother, Anthony. Their treatment of Anthony was so bad that they forced him to take LSD, even knowing of his mental impairments. The revenge is bittersweet.
