Movies about Mental illnesses

All my life, I have been fascinated by psychology, disorders and illnesses and how they affect individuals and society. The way cinema adopted psychology through true life stories or complex characters has always been mind-blowing for me. I find mysef analyzing, searching and more thirsty for more.

Today, I'll be listing some of my ultimate favourite movies that discuss psychological issues on a very deep level.

Warning, these movie may be triggering to some people, prepare yourself mentally before watching.

 Enjoy! 

Fight Club (1999): 

(Schizophrenia/ Dissociative identity disorder)

A nameless first person narrator (Edward Norton) attends support groups in attempt to subdue his emotional state and relieve his insomniac state. When he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another fake attendee of support groups, his life seems to become a little more bearable. However when he associates himself with Tyler (Brad Pitt) he is dragged into an underground fight club and soap making scheme. Together the two men spiral out of control and engage in competitive rivalry for love and power.

This movie eft me in shock, for days! The words can't describe how deep, authentic and revolutionary this masterpiece is.

I loved how it took mental illness to another level, till the end of the movie you still can't comprehend the character's behaviour due to his schizophrenia, you can't tell real events from imagination. 

While watching this movie I realized that you can't count on the narrator to be honest, due to his mental status he's narrating according to his prespective, even if he's the villain of his own story.

This movie is not overrated, all I need to tell is that you need to focus and analyze every scene in order to enjoy it.

Black Swan (2010):

(Schizophrenia/ Obsessive compulsive disorder/ Anxiety)  

A dancer wins the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky "Swan Lake", but struggles to maintain her lucidity.

This movie is not your typical Ballet movie, it's way darker than it looks. How schizophrenia was portrayed by Portman is insanly good, the complex character Nina whos aim is to reach artistic perfection has led her to commit crazy things in order to achieve her goal.

As the movie progresses Nina embodies the Black Swan evil and satanic persona and forgets her real-self, her true and pure white ballerina.

I had nightmares after seeing this film and I wish I were exaggerating but I'm not, the way I see is that it was an amazing portrayal of art, mental illness and music.

Karthik Calling Karthik (2010):

(Schizophrenia)

A much abused loner achieves success, and even wins the heart of his gorgeous co-worker, after getting early morning mysterious phone calls from someone.

The movie reveals that Karthik actually suffers from schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to understand reality. He has an alter-ego that is more assertive and advises him on how to live life.

I loved how  this fim showed how hard it is to live with Schizophrenia within the Indian society, and finding it even harder to accept it and live with it.

Karthik finally accepts his mental health issues and continues his diagnosis and lives happily with his girlfriend.

Shutter Island (2010):

(Delusional Disorder)

Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, two US marshals, are sent to an asylum on a remote island in order to investigate the disappearance of a patient, where Teddy uncovers a shocking truth about the place.

He suffers from Delusional Disorder, creating a false world to escape the dark reality of his past. Shutter Island is one of the many films that present the ethical considerations of psychological treatment to a mainstream audience.

In response to his experiences in war and the death of his wife and children, Teddy creates an entirely different identity, complete with a new name, profession, past and present.

This altered sense of reality serves as a defense mechanism, a means by which he protects himself from the pain of his past experiences. 

I totally recommend this movie, but I garantee you that you won't be able to watch it again.

Atrangi Re (2021):

(Schizophrinia/ PSTD)

A Tamil boy meets a girl from Bihar, what follows is a love story for the ages. A non-linear narrative of two romances running in parallel from different timelines.

Rinku is a scarred woman who witnessed her parents being brutally killed in her childhood. Atrangi itself means ‘funnily weird’, which is an indicator what the makers are striving for in this film.

This movie shows the side effects of trauma on children, and their coping mechanism that led to several mental illnesses such as schizophrinia. 

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this film, it was very enjoyable, dramaric and very funny and I totally recommend it. 

PS: The Album is a masterpiece.

Motivational Movies

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994):

The Shawshank Redemption tells the tale of banker Andy Dufresne's 19-year term in prison. The film gives a strong message of friendship and perseverance and lets us have an insight of the lives at Shawshank. The film just doesn't end with innocent Andy's escape but also his mate, Red's redemption making it an inspiring story of hope, faith and bonding.
I mean do I add something to this cinematic masterpiece?

The character of Andy witnesses quite a character's development throughout the film, and at the end there is a beautiful plot twist that no one sees it coming.
The journey of Andy seeks to provide the viewers with a ray of hope that good people get to have their happy endings in life. 

2-Queen (2013):

Queen is a movie about growing up. Rani (Kangana Ranaut) is a Delhi girl from a conservative family who is ditched by her fiancé just before her wedding. Shocked by this, she decides to set out on the planned honeymoon alone. As she travels the world and meets new people, she gains new experiences and discovers her own identity.
I have watched this movie many times, and I have enjoyed it a lot. The female lead Rani goes solo on her honeymoon, meets new friends and discovers herself all over again. 

She goes on a self-discovery journey, where she feels restless and powerless and tied by her very judgmental society. She has such a strong character, because it's not that easy to move on after calling off your wedding.

Dear Zindagi (2016):

Kaira is a budding cinematographer in search of a perfect life. Her encounter with Jug, an unconventional thinker, helps her gain a new perspective on life. She discovers that happiness is all about finding comfort in life's imperfections.

Hence to one of Alia Bhatt's best performance! 

She portrayed a girl who suffers to juggle between her job, love life and family while suffering from anxiety and depression. She decides to return to her hometown in Goa, and sees a therapist. 

This healing journey teaches her that it's okay to face her fears and deal with her past traumas in a mature and reasonable way. With the help of her therapist, she's finally able to open up to her family and herself about her childhood traumas, also it inspired her to finish her dream of directing her first movie.

Chichoore (2019):

A tragic incident forces Anirudh, a middle-aged man, to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce his college days along with his friends, who were labelled as losers.

If you ever felt like life has become hard just because you failed in something you had high expectations for then watch this movie.

It teaches you that it's okay to fail the important things is to have fun trying, because while you're trying you'll make new friends, discover yoursef and learn from your mistakes.

Part 2 coming soon!