Lock Yourself In Weekend: Mental Illness Movies
Lock Yourself In Weekend: Spend a Weekend in the Nut Hut– Cinematically
Sometimes you need to see a depiction of unhinged mental illness in order to feel sane. What is it about films set in the psych ward that pique our interest? Is it that we’re glad we’re not the patients? Or is it that we can relate to the patients in a “there-but-for-the-grace” way? Maybe it’s because they can offer a glimpse into a side of life we don’t necessarily have access to every day. Whatever the reason, these films are almost always compelling to watch. So fire up your queues, lace up your straightjackets and settle in for some crazy good movies.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Medication time. The godfather of all psych ward films, Cuckoo’s Nest features the now-iconic characters of McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), a man pretending to be crazy to get out of some jail time, and Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who is on to his every trick. McMurphy rallies the patients against Ratched to unpleasant effects, and true wackiness ensues. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey, all the characters are brought to colorful life in this tragic, funny, intense and disturbing Oscar-winner.
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Shock Corridor (1963)
A journalist commits himself to a mental institution in order to solve a murder and get a great story out of it in Samuel Fuller’s harrowing take on the mental health system. While he’s inside, the journalist of course gets more than he bargained for in the form of vicious attendants and truly crazed individuals. Fuller has a tendency to go a little over the top and be a tad exploitative, but his point is driven home hard with some of the more uncomfortably realistic scenes and characters. Explosive in its day, it will still fascinate and creep you out at the same time.
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Lost Angels (1989)
The child of wealthy parents is sent to a private psychiatric hospital when they don’t know how to handle him getting into trouble. A bit movie-of-the-weekish, the real reason to see this one is the performance of Adam Horovitz. That’s right. The Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock is the star of Lost Angels, turning in a perfectly adequate performance as the troubled youth. After seeing this, though, you’ll understand why he stuck to music…
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Girl, Interrupted (1999)
The true story of a young woman in the 60s who gets sent to an institution after making some bad choices in her life, followed by a suicide attempt. At first denying her need for treatment, she slowly becomes institutionalized- almost afraid to leave and rejoin the real world after becoming attached to her fellow patients. Get rid of the baggage. Forget the creepy Morticia-looking Angelina Jolie getting too close to her brother when winning the Oscar for this. The truth is that she deserved to win for her fearless performance. Look for Elizabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men) in an early role as well.
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It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
A teenager checks himself into the psych ward for some relief from his pressure-filled life, not realizing he’s going to be mandated to at least a week among the adult patients. The most light-hearted film of the bunch, this is actually a sweet story with characters that are engaging and appealing- particularly Zach Galifianakis as the patient showing the kid the ropes. Don’t expect any real insight into depression or mental illness from this one.
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The Snake Pit (1948)
Probably the first film to deal head-on with mental illness and institutions using a genuine sense of reality, The Snake Pit deals with a woman (Olivia DeHavilland) who finds herself in a state insane asylum, but can’t remember how she wound up there. She slowly begins to piece things together, as we hear her thoughts working through what she knows is real and what she thinks is not. She goes through electroshock therapy before another doctor tries a new-fangled invention called talking. This is a troubling, realistic portrayal of how asylums were run- as she is run through the various wards while wavering from complete loss of her faculties to a return to her former self.
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Manic (2001)
Way before (500) Days of Summer, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel starred together in this little indie about a violent teen sent to the juvenile wing of an institution. Filmed in hand-held documentary style, it almost feels intrusive as we watch these kids reluctantly spilling their hearts out during group sessions, as well as the power plays that take place. Don Cheadle is his usual greatness as the group leader who is trying to make real connections, Gordon-Levitt takes his first steps into becoming a real actor and Zooey proves she’s more than the sum of her quirks.
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