Movies that Deal With Mental Health

Shutter Island and Black Swan are my favorite movies on mental health !

@lovelyllama13 I also liked silver linings playbook. I found the show 13 reasons why to be highly triggering and wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a show/movie about mental illness or suicide.

I enjoy Silver Linings Playbook, it's very realistic and it portrays how people living with mental illness experience aspects of daily life. The movie depicts an accurate portrayal of how people develop and sustain healthy relationships, coping with stress, and stigma. The Perks of being a wallflower is my favorite movie and book, it's about a boy coping with depression as he enters high school and tries to make friends. It's very good, I strongly recommend this movie.

Inside out is one of my favorites!

@lovelyllama13

I actually really liked 13 Reasons Why for indivduals not currently living with a mental illness. Although I think the book did a better job of portraying this, a lot of kids from my high school started to understand how actions can be perceived differently by different individuals, and sometimes those actions can have dire consequences. After the book came out, bullying in my school decreased significantly, and I know more of my peers began reaching out to those who were more withdrawn to make sure they felt safe at school. That being said, I can also see how the tv show could be triggering for some indviduals; especially those who live with depression or struggle with self harm, so I think it depends on the audience.

There is also a new movie on Netflix called To the Bone that is about Anorexia Nervosa, but I have not had a chance to watch it because it just came out. I am curious to see how the movie portrays anorexia, and will update when I watch it later.

@lovelyllama13 I really liked watching "Silver Linings Playbook" when I first started coming to terms with my Bipolar II diagnosis. I think it shows a good balance between the "disfunctional" aspects of the disorder while still presenting a character that is recognizable to most viewers. As much as I really liked "A Beautiful Mind" I think it makes schizophrenia seem a little too tidy, if that makes sense. There's a documentary on John Nash (it's called "A Brilliant Madness" if anyone is interested), and it addresses how chaotic schizophrenia can be. In "A Beautiful Mind" John really only has a few halucinated characters that reoccur, so he learned to "ignore" them. He never experiences more of the overwhelming and confusing symptoms of schizophrenia like auditory hallucinations etc. What John actually experienced was not that cut and dry. He did actually develop an ability to overcome his symptoms, but his experiences with schizophrenia were nothing like how the movie depicted them. Although it's not a very accurate depiction of schizophrenia, I'm not too bothered by the inaccuracy because it's one of the few well known filmf that manages to show schizophrenia in a way that isn't scary or dangerous.

One movie that's actually quite old that I like is "The Three Faces of Eve," based on a real case of a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder. I think it captured the dissociative aspects of the disorder, as well as the recovery process, pretty accurately. Like "A Beautiful Mind," it doesn't make the disorder seem scary.

I also know people have really mixed feelings about "It's Kind of a Funny Story." I read the book and liked it, but naturally the movie made the story more Hollywood cute, and therefore less acurrate.

@lovelyllama13 ....

Hi Llama :) (I love your name btw) ... When I saw this thread I was thinking it would be a list of movies, so with a list of three, I was rather disappointed. On the other hand, I *own* two of the three (owning is a step above seeing the movie, in my opinion) and I've seen all three so .... yeah.

What do y'all think of "Girl, Interrupted"? (1999, Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, an ensemble cast) I own that one too, but I had not viewed it before purchase. My one friend says it's a great movie, one of her favorites. I've seen it a few times now - certain things/parts or scenes seem to trigger me every time, even though I know the scene is in there and coming up somewhere. Does this make sense to anyone else?

I also own (bought cause it was cheap) the movie "Manic" (2001, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle, Zooey Deschanel). I have not watched it in a long time. If you've seen that one, do let me know what you thought.

I did see "Black Swan." I've also seen "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet). I'm not so sure what type of mental illness they were portraying. So for me, for that reason, it was (pick proper adjective??). It was kind of a strange movie.

I viewed "Touched with Fire" (2016, Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby) in pieces; I borrowed it from our library twice because at the first viewing, I was not in 'the right place' (emotionally and mentally) to watch it. This movie is based on the book by Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison. The movie deals almost exclusively with bipolar disorder, and as you may have guessed, for me at least, it's a very true portrayal. One of my doctors recommended it to me; and after getting into the right mindset for it, I am glad that she did. I watched this movie alone - I'm not sure if it would have been better or harder to watch with a friend or a group of friends. At any rate, it is a very well done movie - screenwriter, actors, photographers, ambiance, all those things. According to me, anyway :)

Of those mentioned so far, my favorite is probably "A Beautiful Mind," which yes I own. :)

I know there are a lot more .... please share more titles! While 'mental illness' sorts of movies or tv shows are difficult sometimes, there are certainly some I may want to see. I also appreciate your reviews and trigger warnings. Thank you so much!!!! ~ Platy

P.S. Maybe I should change my name to Platypuslovesmovies6370

I really enjoyed We Need to Talk About Kevin. It's about antisocial personality disorder (technically conduct disorder because he is under 18) as it's main theme, but it also demonstrates how many environmental factors go into someone who commits a crime. I think it does it's part in fighting stigma because it wasn't just that Kevin had conduct disorder, but it portrays the role in his mom's severe post-partum depression, her abusive behaviors towards him, his lack of support at school, and the absence of his father (who was always working). I think it was a fantastic portrayal of mental health from all angles.

@lovelyllama13

nice!!! I just joined 🤗

Dear Evan Hansen! It's a musical (not a movie) but it deals with social anxiety and depression