Psychiatry - Dramas

The Eighth Day (Original title: Le huitième jour)
Director: Jaco Van Dormael
Country of origin and year: Belgium, France, UK, 1996
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Pascal Duquenne and Miou-Miou
Georges has Down syndrome, living at a mental-institution. Harry is a high flying busy businessman, giving lectures for young aspiring salesmen. Though successful in his business life, his social life is a disaster since his wife left him with their two children. Neither his wife or his children want to see him again and he is driving around on the country roads, anguished and angry. He almost runs over Georges, on the run from his institution since everybody else went home with their parents except him. Harry tries to get rid of Georges but he will not leave his new friend. Eventually a special friendship forms between the two of them, a friendship in which they can both learn.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116581/

Shock Corridor
Director: Samuel Fuller
Country of origin and year: USA, 1963
Starring: Peter Breck, Constance Towers and Gene Evans
Journalist Johnny Barrett thinks the quickest way to a Pulitzer Prize is to uncover the facts behind a murder at a mental hospital. So, he pretends to go insane and is locked up in the institution. While pursuing his investigation, he is sidetracked by the behavior of his fellow inmates. After a hospital riot, Barrett is straight-jacketed and subjected to shock treatment. He learns the identity of the killer, and writes his story, but the damage to his mind is irreparable, and he never leaves the hospital.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057495/

Shine
Director: Scott Hicks
Country of origin and year: Australia, 1996
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Justin Braine
As a child piano prodigy, David Helfgott's musical ambitions generate friction with his overbearing father, Peter. When Helfgott travels to London on a musical scholarship, his career as a pianist blossoms. However, the pressures of his newfound fame, coupled with the echoes of his tumultuous childhood, conspire to bring Helfgott's latent schizophrenia boiling to the surface, and he spends years in and out of various mental institutions. Many years later he is released and through several twists of fate he starts playing a piano in a bar before finally returning to the concert hall.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117631/

The Soloist
Director: Joe Wright
Country of origin and year: UK, USA, France, 2009
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and Catherine Keener
In 2005, the only thing hurting Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez more than his face from a recent bike accident was his pressing need for story ideas. That is when he discovers Nathaniel Ayers, a mentally ill, homeless street musician who possesses extraordinary talent, even through his half-broken instruments. Inspired by his story, Lopez writes an acclaimed series of articles about Ayers and attempts to do more to help both him and the rest of the underclass of LA have a better life.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821642/

Girl, Interrupted
Director: James Mangold
Country of origin and year: USA, Germany, 1999
Starring: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie and Whoopi Goldberg
Susanna is depressed and directionless after finishing high school in the late 1960's. A suicide attempt lands her in a mental institution. She befriends the band of troubled women in her ward but falls under the hypnotic sway of Lisa, the wildest and most hardened of the bunch. Will Susanna "drop anchor" at the institution and perpetually act out like Lisa, or will she finally pull her mind together and leave institutional life behind?
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172493/

The Madness of King George
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Country of origin and year: UK, 1004
Starring: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren and Ian Holm
Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister attempt to prevent the King's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110428/

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
Director Milos Forman
Country of origin and year: USA, 1975
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher and Danny DeVito
Pretending to be mentally ill to avoid prison work detail, manic free spirit Randle P. McMurphy is sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation. There he encounters an interesting group of mostly voluntary patients, presided over by the icy Nurse Ratched. McMurphy proceeds to instigate group insurrections large and small, ranging from a restorative basketball game to an unfettered afternoon boat trip and a tragic after-hours party with booze. McMurphy's message to live free or die is ultimately not lost on the other patients, revealing that escape is still possible even from the most oppressive conditions.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073486/

Angel Baby
Director: Michael Rymer
Country of origin and year: UK, 1996
Starring: John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie and Colin Friels
Harry is a patient being treated for schizophrenia at a psychiatric clinic. He meets Kate, another schizophrenic, during their group therapy sessions. They quickly launch into a passionate affair. The intensity of their love stems from their conviction that they were made for one another. After they move in together, they believe their love is so powerful that it will enable them to discontinue their medication. But once they do this, disaster overwhelms them.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112362/

The Snake Pitt
Director: Anatole Litvak
Country of origin and year: USA, 1948
Starring: Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens and Leo Genn
Virginia, a recently married writer, is hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Unable to perceive what is going on, for a long time she is not even sure where she is. In flashbacks she returns to her childhood and explores incidents which might have caused her breakdown. Over time she gains insight and self-understanding and is able to leave the hospital. Throughout her time at the hospital, she meets some other patients, from whom Virginia learns as much as she does in therapy.

Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040806/

Mary and Max
Director: Adam Elliot
Country of origin and year: Australia, 2009
Starring: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Eric Bana
In the mid-1970's, a friendless Australian girl called Mary picks a name out of a Manhattan phone book and writes to him; she includes a chocolate bar. As a result, an unlikely pen-pal friendship is created between 8-year-old Mary and 44-year-old Max. Mary is the only child of an alcoholic mother and a distracted father, and Max is an overweight man with Asperger's, living alone in New York. They share their life stories and the lives of the people around them throughout their 22-year correspondence.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978762/

Spellbound
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country of origin and year: USA, 1945
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck and Michael Chekhov
Dr. Constance Peterson is a psychoanalyst in a mental hospital and is perceived by the other doctors as detached and emotionless. When the director of the hospital retires, he is replaced by the much younger Dr. Anthony Edwardes. However, Dr. Peterson notices that there is something strange about Dr. Edwardes. Dr. Peterson soon realizes, by comparing handwriting, that this man is an impostor and not the real Dr. Edwardes.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038109/

United States of Tara (TV Series)
Director: Diablo Cody
Country of origin and year: USA, 2009
Starring: Toni Collette, John Corbett and Rosemarie DeWitt
Tara Gregor is a seemingly perfect American suburban mother, married to a loyal and supportive husband, a landscape developer named Max, and two teenage children. However, Tara suffers from Dissociative Personality Disorder and has three other personalities which emerge at any given time which range from a flirtatious and spunky teenager named 'T' and a gun-loving male alter-ego named Buck. Despite her family’s support, Tara struggles to keep up when she blacks out when her other personalities emerge.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001482/

A Beautiful Mind
Director: Ron Howard
Country of origin and year: USA, 2001
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly
John Nash is a mathematical genius who made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. However, over time however John begins to lose his grip on reality, eventually being institutionalized diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the depths of his imaginary world are revealed, Nash withdraws from society and it is not until the 1970s that he makes his first foray back into the world of academics, gradually returning to research and teaching.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/

Iris
Director: Richard Eyre
Country of origin and year: UK, USA, 2001
Starring: Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet
The film is based on the life of revered, is a story of unlikely yet enduring love. As a young academic, teaching philosophy at Oxford, British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch meets and eventually falls in love with fellow professor John Bayley, a man whose awkwardness seems in stark opposition to the spirited self-confidence of his future wife. Murdoch recalls their first encounter over 40 years ago, activities they enjoyed doing together, and Iris' charismatic and individualistic personality. These images portray Murdoch as a vibrant young woman with great intellect and are contrasted with the novelist's later life, after the effects of Alzheimer's disease have ravaged her.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280778/

Rain Man
Director: Barry Levinson
Country of origin and year: USA, 1988
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise and Valeria Golino
Charlie Babbitts father passes away, leaving him only the car that caused their estrangement, and some prized rose bushes. Using his cunning, Charlie traces the remainder of the inheritance, a trust fund, to an institution for the mentally challenged. There, Charlie discovers the existence of a brother that he had never known. Charlie abducts Raymond, an autistic savant, from the institute in the hopes of ransoming him for at least half of the $3,000,000 trust fund. Raymond's fear of flying forces a cross-country road trip, during which the two brothers reconnect.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095953/

Benny and Joon
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Country of origin and year: USA, 1993
Starring: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn
In a small town, an auto mechanic named Benny is devoted to taking care of his mentally ill sister, Joon, who can barely function alone in the real world despite being a talented artist. This relatively stable situation is shaken up when Benny is obliged in a poker game to welcome another player's relative, Sam, to his home for a few days. Without Benny's full knowledge, Sam and Joon find themselves completely drawn to each other. However when Benny finds out, it creates a rift in the siblings as they struggle to accept their relationship is profoundly changing with the presence of this odd newcomer.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106387/

The Three Faces of Eve
Director: Nunnally Johnson
Country of origin and year: USA, 1957
Starring: Joanne Woodward, David Wayne and Lee J. Cobb
Eve White is a quiet, mousy, unassuming wife and mother who keeps suffering from headaches and occasional black outs. Eventually she is sent to see psychiatrist Dr. Luther, and, while under hypnosis, a whole new personality emerges: the racy, wild, fun-loving Eve Black. Under continued therapy, yet a third personality appears, the relatively stable Jane. Dr. Luther's attempts to reconcile the three faces of Eve.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051077/ 

Adam
Director: Max Wayer
Country of origin and year: USA, 2009
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne and Peter Gallagher
Adam is a young man born with Asperger syndrome living in Manhattan. His parents died but Adam’s friend Harlan is always there for him. He has difficulties communicating with others and likes to escape into his love of space exploration. When Beth, a school teacher, moves into the apartment above him, he begins to build the personal relationship with her that he so desperately desires.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185836/

Manic
Director: Jordan Melamed
Country of origin and year: USA, 2001
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Bacall and Zooey Deschanel
Taking place entirely in a psychiatric ward, the film opens with Lyle, who is being treated for wounds due to a violent outburst from a fight that left another young man in horrible shape. He is transferred instead to a juvenile lockdown facility and deemed a menace to society. After being sedated during an episode, he wakes up to a room shared by Kenny, a 12-year old child molester. Lyle is put off by his new surroundings and refuses to befriend the other inmates or cooperate with the patient, weary Dr. Monroe. But Lyle soon begins to adapt to his new life, meeting Chad, a bipolar case with an impending release who lures Lyle into a plan for an escape. Lyle also finds solace in Tracy, a young girl plagued with nightmares and self-mutilation, who finds herself drawn to him as well.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252684/

Frances
Director: Graeme Clifford
Country of origin and year: USA, 1982
Starring: Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley and Sam Shepard
Frances Elena Farmer is a mold-breaking actress from Seattle who moved to Hollywood and gained notoriety for her unconventional attitude. She is approached by the Group Theatre, however she learns that it intends to exploit her fame in order to draw in customers. Her desperate attempts to restart her movie career, combined with her increasing dependence on alcohol and the pressures brought to bear by her mother, result in a complete nervous breakdown. Institutionalized, Frances is abused by patients and staff alike.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083967/ 

Until the end of the world – (Original title: Bis ans Ende der Welt)
Director: Wim Wenders
Country of origin and year: Germany, 1991
Starring: William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin and Pietro Falcone
A woman has a car accident with some bank robbers, who befriend and enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Paris. On the way she runs into another fugitive from the law, an American who is being chased by the CIA. He explains that the charges are false and that they want to confiscate a device his father has invented which allows the recording of dreams and vision. On the run from the bank robbers and the CIA, they span the globe, ending up in Australia at the research facility of his father where they hope to be able to play back the recordings the American has made to his blind mother.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101458/

As Good As It Gets
Director: James L. Brooks
Country of origin and year: USA, 1997
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear
Melvin Udall is an obsessive-compulsive writer of romantic fiction who's rude to everyone he meets, including his gay neighbor Simon. However, he begins to soften when he has to look after Simon's dog, and, if still not completely over his problems, finds he can conduct a relationship with the only waitress at the local diner who'll serve him.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119822/

The Lawnmower Man
Director: Brett Leonard
Country of origin and year: UK, USA, 1992
Starring: Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan and Jenny Wright
A scientist performs experiments involving intelligence enhancing drugs and virtual reality on a simple-minded gardener. He puts the gardener on an extensive schedule of learning, and quickly he becomes brilliant. But at this point the gardener has a few ideas of his own on how the research should continue, and the scientist begins losing control of his experiments.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104692/

Brimstone and Treacle
Director: Richard Loncraine
Country of origin and year: UK, 1982
Starring: Sting, Denholm Elliott and Joan Plowright
Tom Bates and his wife, Norma, are initially overjoyed when a mysterious stranger named Martin inserts himself into their lives, proving an enormous help with their domestic chores. They are especially pleased when he takes an interest in their disabled daughter, becoming her de facto caretaker. Gradually, however, they realize that he's not who he seems -- and Martin reveals himself to be a diabolical presence.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083693/

She's Been Away (TV Episode 1989)Director: Peter Hall
Country of origin and year: UK, 1989
Starring: Peggy Ashcroft, Geraldine James, James Fox
A moving story of the unexpected friendship forged between an elderly woman released from a psychiatric hospital after 60 years and her nephew's pregnant wife with whom she comes to live. The pair find a common purpose which has hilarious and risky consequences for those around them.
Internet Movie Database webpage: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098307/

Bigger Than Life
Director: Nicholas Ray
Country of origin and year: USA, 1956
Starring: James Mason, Barbara Rush and Walter Matthau
Schoolteacher and family man Ed Avery, who has been suffering bouts of severe pain and even blackouts, is hospitalized with what is diagnosed as a rare inflammation of the arteries. Ed agrees to an experimental treatment: doses of the hormone cortisone. Ed makes a remarkable recovery, and returns home to his wife and son. He must keep taking the cortisone regularly to prevent a recurrence of his illness. But the "miracle" cure turns into its own nightmare as Ed starts to abuse the tablets, causing him to experience increasingly wild mood swings.
Internet Movie Database webpage: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049010/

Away from Her
Director: Sarah Polley
Country of origin and year: Canada, 2006
Starring: Julia Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent
Forty-four years married, Fiona and Grant find their mutual devotion tested by her struggle with Alzheimer's disease. When it becomes apparent that the condition is worsening, she checks into a rest home. However, Grant struggles with the the facility's policy of no visitors within the first thirty days of admission to allow the patient to adjust more easily to their new life there.  Grant visits her a month later and finds that his wife has grown close to Aubrey, a fellow resident. Jealous and hurt, Grant finally seeks help from Aubrey's wife when Fiona suffers a crisis.
Internet Movie Database webpage: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491747/

I Only Want You To Love Me
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Country of origin and year: Germany, 1976
Starring: Vitus Zeplichal, Elke Aberle, Alexander Allerson
Peter is a hardworking bricklayer who lives a lonesome life. His parents are cruel and unloving and his wife is distant. In an attempt to finally win their affection, Peter builds his parents a home. Instead of offering their flat to him and his bride, they give the flat up, so he goes to Munich to work in construction, bringing his wife who is soon pregnant and showers her with lavish gifts. And though he cannot afford this lifestyle, he keeps at it. The pressure ultimately proves too great and he loses control, succumbing to alcoholism.
Internet Movie Database webpage: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074664/

The Black Sheep (Original Title : La Pecora Nera)
Director: Luciano Salce
Country of origin and year: Italy, 1968
Starring: Vittorio Gassman, Lisa Gastoni, Adrienne Larussa
Mario and Filippo are two twin brothers. The honorable brother wants to bring morality back into Italian political life, as president of the Commission for the investigation of corruption. However, the other brother is a cynical trickster.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063421/ 

My Feral Heart
Director: Jane Gull
Country of origin and year: UK,2016
Starring: Steven Brandon, Shana Swash, Sarah Ioannou
Luke, an independent young man with Down's syndrome, is forced to live in a care home after his elderly mother dies. He struggles to settle there, both frustrated at having his wings clipped by its rules, and unimpressed by his new house mates. His disappointment with his new home soon turns to wonder when Luke discovers a way out and begins to explore the surrounding countryside. When he is caught sneaking out by Pete, a troubled youth who tends the gardens at the home, the two strike up an unlikely rapport: Pete covers for Luke and in return Luke helps Pete clear the garden. On one illicit excursion to the adjoining field Luke discovers a young girl in desperate need of his help.