psychology movie assignment

18 Must-See Films For Psychology Students

Whether you're considering or enrolled in an on-campus or online psychology program, check out this list of must-see movies for all psychology students.

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A pioneer of French cinema, filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard said, "Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self."

Film as art is certainly no exception when it comes to capturing our minds and imaginations. Film provides a powerful medium for exploring what it means to be human, offering us a glimpse into human nature at its best, its worst and everywhere in between.

Perhaps that's why there is no shortage of films that explore the gamut of psychological topics – making film a popular tool for teaching psychology.

• The paranoia exhibited by Humphrey Bogart's Captain Queeg who unravels under stress in "The Caine Mutiny."
• The chilling descent into madness displayed by Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."
• The effect of one woman's obsession on a man and his family in "Fatal Attraction."
• The moral dilemmas faced by the survivors of a torpedoed ship drifting at sea in Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat."

While there are hundreds of films that could be included on a list of movies that deal with psychology, here are a handful recommended by Saint Leo psychology faculty – all 'must sees' for students in online psychology degree programs .

1. "12 Angry Men"

Drama (1957) Topics: Social, moral development Actors: Henry Fonda, John Fiedler Plot: A diverse group of 12 jurors deliberates the fate of an 18-year-old Latino accused of murdering his father. As a lone dissenting juror tries to convince the others that the case is not as open-and-shut as it appears, individual prejudices and preconceptions about the trial emerge. Recommended by: Dr. Lara Ault Why recommended: The movie has tremendous lessons and value in social psychology. It addresses prejudice, conformity, aggression, group interaction, leadership, persuasion, and other basic areas of social psychology and the study of normal human behavior.

2. "28 Days"

Drama/romance (2000) Topics: Substance abuse disorders/alcoholism Actors: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West Plot: Sandra Bullock plays a newspaper columnist who chooses to enter a rehabilitation center for alcoholism in lieu of jail time for stealing a limousine at her sister's wedding and crashing it. Initially in denial that she is an alcoholic and resistant to treatment, with the help of fellow patients, she eventually begins to re-examine her life and comes to terms with her alcoholism and addiction to prescription medications. Recommended by: Dr. Glenn Lowery Why recommended: This movie models good counseling skills and promotes optimism, while dealing with serious substance abuse issues.

3. "A Beautiful Mind"

Drama (2001) Topics: Abnormal psychology, psychotic disorders/schizophrenia Actors: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly Plot: Based on the life of mathematical genius and Nobel Laureate John Forbes Nash, who suffers from severe mental illness, this film won four Academy Awards including Best Picture. Recommended by: Dr. Antonio Laverghetta Why recommended: The film sheds light on the life and suffering of a person living with schizophrenia. Psychology students will notice that Nash exhibits many of the symptoms used to diagnose schizophrenia and can follow the increasing intensity of these symptoms and the effect on him and those around him. The film also shows the difficult task of managing the disorder and the importance of social support.

4. "The Blind Side"

Biographical/sport (2009) Topics: Social psychology, including social influence, family relations Actors: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates Plot: "The Blind Side" is the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American boy who is adopted by a wealthy white family, the Tuohys. Michael realizes his full potential, succeeding in school and becoming a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft. Recommended by: Dr. Helen Oderinde Why recommended: This film does a good job of highlighting some of the difficulties and misunderstandings that take place when people of different cultures attempt to bridge cultural and racial differences and connect on an intimate level. The film also shows how mutually beneficial this engagement can be: the Tuohys open the door to educational and financial opportunity for Michael and he, in turn, opens their minds.

5. "Driving Miss Daisy"

Comedy/drama (1989) Topics: Social psychology, developmental psychology/aging, Alzheimer's disease Actors: Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, Dan Akroyd Plot: The movie begins in 1948 when, at the insistence of her son who decides his mother must stop driving, Miss Daisy Werthan, a wealthy Jewish Southern woman, hires an African-American chauffeur, Hoke Colburn. The story of their friendship unfolds over the following 25 years as they overcome their differences and discomforts and develop a loving friendship. Recommended by: Dr. Antonio Laverghetta Why recommended: In addition to addressing the degenerative nature of Alzheimer's disease, this film explores some of the big questions of interest in the field of social psychology: how prejudice develops and how it can be overcome.

6. "Enough"

Drama/thriller (2002) Topics: Social psychology, domestic violence Actors: Jessica Jennifer Lopez, Billy Campbell, Tessa Allen Plot: Based on the Anna Quindlen novel, "Black and Blue," the film is about a working-class waitress named Slim who thinks she has married the man of her dreams. After the birth of their first child, he becomes controlling and abusive. Slim escapes from him several times, moving to different parts of the country with her daughter, but her husband tracks her down. She decides to prepare herself to fight back by learning Krav Maga self-defense techniques. Recommended by: Dr. Tammy Zacchilli Why recommended: Portraying a physical and psychological battle between the two main characters, this movie addresses the challenges of dealing with and escaping from an abusive relationship.

7. "Good Will Hunting"

Drama (1997) Topics: Social and developmental psychology, treatment, giftedness Actors: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver Plot: Will Hunting is a young, headstrong janitor at MIT with exceptional mathematical abilities. Abused as a child, he has numerous run-ins with the law and does not realize his full potential. With the help of a psychology professor, he finally receives the counseling he needs that will enable him to find his identity and change his life. Recommended by: Dr. Glenn Lowery Why recommended: "Good Will Hunting." serves as a good teachable opportunity. This movie depicts a difficult therapeutic relationship between an ambivalent client and a somewhat unorthodox counselor.

8. "The Hurricane"

Biographical/sport (1991) Topics: Social psychology including prejudice, discrimination, violence, civil rights Actors: Denzel Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Deborah Kara Unger Plot: This film is based on the life of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a top-ranked, African-American boxer who, in 1966, is expected to become a world champion when he is wrongly imprisoned for a triple murder. His appeals are rejected and his case seems hopeless until a teenage boy and his foster family find new evidence that eventually leads to his release two decades later. Recommended by: Dr. Bob Jacobs Why recommended: "The Hurricane" highlights our ability to transcend our circumstances through internal change.

9. "Identity"

Thriller/mystery (2003) Topics: Psychotic disorders, forensic psychology Actors: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet Plot: A group of strangers from different walks of life are forced to find shelter during a torrential rainstorm at an out-of-the-way Nevada desert motel. One-by-one, they are killed off. Meanwhile, in a related storyline, a psychiatrist tries to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder. Recommended by: Dr. Lara Ault Why recommended: "Identity" deals with a unique and controversial disorder (it's a spoiler if I name it). It plays on some misconceptions about the disorder, but has a radical therapy suggestion that is intriguing. It is also an exciting murder mystery.

10. "Memento"

Crime thriller (2000) Topics: Neuropsychology, memory loss/amnesia Actors: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano Plot: Leonard Shelby is an ex-insurance investigator who sustains a head injury when trying to prevent his wife's murder and now suffers from amnesia. He learns how to cope with his condition using notes and tattoos as he tries to find the murderer and avenge her death. Recommended by: Dr. Lara Ault Why recommended: "Memento" deals with a person with short-term memory loss trying to solve a mystery. It is accurate, in many ways, regarding what life might be like for someone who cannot remember for more than a few minutes or seconds at a time. It is fascinating in a cognitive sense, as well as moving and emotionally engaging (and exciting).

11. "The Notebook"

Romance (2004) Topics: Clinical and social psychology, cultural differences, Alzheimer's disease Actors: Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Gena Rowlands, James Garner Plot: A poor young man, Noah Calhoun, falls in love with a young heiress, Allie Hamilton, during the summer of 1940. When Allie's mother finds out, she bans her from seeing Noah and the family leaves their summer home on Seabrook Island and returns to Charleston. World War II intervenes and Allie and Noah go on with their lives but are reunited years later. Recommended by: Dr. Tammy Zacchilli Why recommended: I show clips of this movie in my close relationships class because you can examine how love and relationships change over time. It is also relevant to developmental psychology because one of the characters has Alzheimer's disease.

12. "On Golden Pond"

Drama/comedy (1981) Topics: Neuropsychology/dementia, marital/family dynamics Actors: Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda Plot: This Academy Award winner for Best Actor and Best Actress tells the story of elderly couple, Norman and Ethel Thayer, who return to their summer cottage while dealing with Norman's failing memory, onset of senility and strained relationship with his daughter. Recommended by: Dr. Mark Benander Why recommended: This movie is full of great explorations of so many fundamental aspects of human nature, including family relationships, aging, death and dying, personal growth, and forgiveness. We are also treated to ways in which elements of nature such as a beautiful woodland lake, a treacherous cove, a dive into crisp clear water, and a family of loons can illuminate the powerful psychological dynamics of being human.

13. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Drama (1975) Topics: Personality/mood disorders, forensic psychology, treatment Actors: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield Plot: Randle McMurphy has a criminal past. To escape his most current prison sentence, he pleads insanity so that he can be sent to a mental institution where he thinks he can serve his sentence more comfortably than in jail. Upon admittance, he rallies the other patients into rebellion against the oppressive Nurse Ratched. Recommended by : Dr. Kevin Kieffer Why recommended: This Academy Award-winning classic is a must-see film for psychology students. It provides a disturbing look into mental hospitals in the 1960s, including electroshock therapy as a form of treatment and a dysfunctional form of group psychotherapy.

14. "Ordinary People"

Drama (1980) Topics: Family dynamics, stress and coping, mood disorders, therapy Actors: Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch Plot: When his older brother dies unexpectedly, guilt and grief push Conrad Jarrett to attempt suicide. After spending six months in a mental hospital, he returns home, sees a psychiatrist, and tries to return to normal. His parents each react differently to the trauma; his father attempts to deal with his grief, while his mother remains in denial, angry and depressed. Recommended by: Dr. Kevin Kieffer Why recommended: This film sheds realistic light on how one family deals with trauma and the resulting breakdown of the family unit. It offers a positive, affirming portrayal of a therapist and the value of therapy in helping Conrad and his father heal.

15. "Rain Man"

Comedy/drama (1988) Topics: Neuropsychology/autism, marital/family dynamics Actors: Dustin Hoffmann, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino Plot: "Rain Man" is the story of a hustler, Charlie Babbit, and his brother, Raymond, an autistic savant unknown to Charlie who is living in an institution. When the brothers' father dies and leaves his fortune in trust to Raymond, Charlie sets out on a scheme to gain custody of Raymond and control of the money during a classic cross-country road trip. Recommended by: Dr. Antonio Laverghetta Why recommended: This film shed light on autism at time when there was little public awareness of the syndrome. Raymond exhibits many of the classic behaviors of a high-functioning autistic. As Charlie begins to understand Raymond more, he learns how to manage the stress associated with being his caregiver and becomes a better person.

16. "Regarding Henry"

Drama (1991) Topics: Neuropsychology, retrograde amnesia, marital/family dynamics Actors: Harrison Ford, Annette Benning, Michael Haley Plot: Henry is a hard-driven lawyer who is shot in the head during a robbery and suffers brain damage. He emerges from a coma with retrograde amnesia. As he struggles to recover his speech and mobility and regain his memory, he experiences a shift in values and builds a new life for his family and himself. Recommended by: Dr. Antonio Laverghetta Why recommended: While real-life cases of retrograde amnesia are actually quite rare, films tend to depict it as fairly common occurrence and, therefore, often promote inaccuracies. Despite that fact, this movie does a good job showing how retrograde amnesia can have a significant impact on individuals and their families – sometimes for good or ill.

17. "Reign Over Me"

Family drama (2007) Topics: Post-traumatic stress disorder Actors: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith Plot: The grief that Charlie Fineman experiences after losing his family in the September 11 attack on New York City causes him to quit his job and isolate himself. After a chance encounter, he rekindles his friendship with his old college roommate, Alan Johnson, who helps him to face his past and rebuild his life. Recommended by: Dr. Mark Benander Why recommended: "Rein Over Me" is an entertaining movie, replete with laughs and more sober, thought-provoking scenes, but it also demonstrates some of the ways in which PTSD can impact the life of the affected individual as well as everyone in his or her life.

18. "Save The Last Dance"

Musical romance (2001) Topics: Social psychology, interracial relationships, peer pressure, violence Actors: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington Plot: Sara, a white girl who has lived in the suburbs, is forced to relocate to Chicago's inner city. With the move comes a new school with a predominately African-American student body, and Sara's new boyfriend is a black teen, Derek, with whom she shares a love for dance. Recommended by: Dr. Helen Oderinde Why recommended: "Save the Last Dance is centered on a teenage, interracial romance and the couple's relationship with others. They continually meet with social and cultural conflict over their relationship and have to work hard to overcome prejudice and rise above cultural and social pressures.

What other films would you add to this list?

Other posts you may be interested in reading:

14 Blogs For Students In Online Psychology Degree Programs

8 Tips On How To Be A Successful Psychology Student

Is An Online Psychology Degree For You?

Image Credit: Razoom Game on Shutterstock.com

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17 Psychological Movies That Explore The Depths Of The Mind

The human mind is complex. Unlike the brain, for which it’s often conflated, the mind doesn’t have an anatomical structure, neural pathways, or any definable mass. It’s a complicated web of thoughts, sensations, and memories caught within layers of consciousness that take a unique form within each individual person. Despite the differences, however, the mind is a shared human experience, and one that has been deeply explored in film.

Psychological movies cross genres. There are psychological thrillers , psychological dramas, psychological horror, and much, much more. Some movies use the realities of mental illness as a jumping off point to explore fantastical concepts, while others offer a more grounded approach, attempting to portray psychological concepts realistically. Yet, regardless of genre or to what extent they explore human psychology, these movies explore the capacity of the human mind and sometimes use the audience’s perceptions against them . There is no shortage of psychological movies that dive deep into the human psyche, but there are certainly those that dig much deeper than others.

The Silence of the Lambs

The Breakdown: Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling is given probably the worst assignment ever: stopping a heinous serial killer nicknamed Buffalo Bill. In order to do that, she has to interview an even more heinous serial killer named Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter, who’s also Buffalo Bill’s ex-psychiatrist. This turns into a game of cat-and-mouse in which it’s never quite clear who’s manipulating whom. Clarice does nab Buffalo Bill, but Lecter escapes anyway. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: It’s just the third movie in cinematic history that scored all five of the major Academy Awards, 27 years after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest achieved the same feat. What’s perhaps most impressive is that this is actually the second film adaptation of a Thomas Harris novel about his signature character, after the 1986 Michael Mann entry Manhunter . Silence of the Lambs sidestepped that baggage, elevating the source material to deliver an all-time classic. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: A great thriller, and a great psychological thriller in particular, keeps the audience in suspense until the final frame. On one level, Silence of the Lambs is an expertly crafted hunt for a serial killer. But the element of an even greater evil in Hannibal Lecter adds an element of danger to such a degree that the audience never feels safe. You never know quite how much Hannibal knows. Did he groom his former patient Jame Gumb to become Buffalo Bill? Was it all a contingency plan to help spring him from prison? The film raised questions that still remain unanswered.

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The Breakdown: Natalie Portman stars as Nina, an up and coming New York ballerina who’s cast in the coveted lead role of Swan Lake , which is actually two roles in one — the innocent Odette and the seductive Odile. Nina is perfect for the former, but struggles with the latter. When the much Odile-like Lily is cast as her understudy, Nina becomes convinced that Lily is trying to replace her.

Why It’s Worth Watching: It’s a Darren Aronofsky film, which means you’re getting an unsettling, mind-bending story with striking visuals and rich themes. For those who like their movies to be literary, Aronofsky was inspired by Dostoyevsky’s The Double when writing the script. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Here’s another film that uses hallucination, some of which is chemically induced, to mess with your perception of reality. At various points, Nina isn’t quite sure if Lily is a real person or a figment of her imagination. The entire film hinges on the concept of the “doppelgänger.”

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Shutter Island

The Breakdown: In 1954, US Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner travel to an insane asylum in Boston Harbor, ostensibly to locate a missing patient, but really so that Teddy can locate and get revenge against Andrew Laddis, an arsonist who killed his wife in a fire. Soon, the asylum and its inmates seem to be working against Teddy, but not all is as it seems.

Why It’s Worth Watching: This is the fourth entry in the highly successful Martin Scorsese-Leonardo DiCaprio pairing, which began with 2002’s Gangs of New York and most recently (as of 2024) Killers of the Flower Moon . While it might not be considered among either of their greatest works, it still earned nearly $300 million . 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Shutter Island is a fun take on the classic trope, “What if the main character was the villain all along?” It’s not particularly interested in a realistic portrayal of mental illness, or grief for that matter. But it does use those elements to create a fun thriller, even if it doesn’t really hold up to multiple viewings. 

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The Breakdown: Three teenagers are taken hostage by a man named Kevin, who has 23 different personalities. While Kevin goes about his daily life trying to get treatment for his affliction, the teens attempt to survive by appealing to his different personalities for help. Everything comes to a head when he manifests a cannibalistic 24th personality, The Beast.

Why It’s Worth Watching: It really depends on your love for director M. Night Shyamalan. While this film does include a classic Shyamalanian twist, it’s not nearly as contrived as some of his others. James McAvoy’s performance as Kevin and many of his alter egos certainly merits checking out, too. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: This film doesn’t quite keep you guessing like others. The entire time, it’s clear who’s the villain and who’s the victim, even if the villain looks and acts differently in nearly every scene. While other films use dissociative identity disorder to subvert reality, this one uses it to present a villain who’s unpredictable.

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

The Breakdown: Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet star as Joel and Clementine, a recently broken up couple who both decide to undergo a procedure to remove each other from their memories and thus avoid grief. It’s told mostly from Joel’s perspective and follows him as he realizes that he doesn’t want to erase his happier memories of Clementine and that he still wants to be with her. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: It’s directed by Michel Gondry with a script by Charlie Kaufman. Both filmmakers are known for creating absorbing worlds with arresting visuals, often based on the human mind. Plus, it functions as a love story in reverse, but as with any love story the audience has to root for the main characters, and who doesn’t love Winslet and Carrey?

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Eternal Sunshine isn’t particularly hard to follow. It doesn’t revel in overly complicated plots twists. But it does do what great science fiction does, which is present a premise that makes you rethink your values. If such technology as Lacuna’s did exist, would you use it? And how could you create that technology without abusing it?

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The Breakdown: In a world where it’s possible to infiltrate people’s dreams to subconsciously alter people’s minds, Dom Cobb has a problem. He’s a gifted dream cracker, but he’s haunted by the death of his wife and the loss of his children. His latest mission requires him to conduct corporate espionage by tampering with the mind of the heir to a multi-national corporation, but along the way he must overcome his demons. 

Why It’s Worth Watching:  Cristopher Nolan's movies have earned more than $5 billion globally for a reason, and this is widely considered to be his masterpiece. It also features an all-star cast.

How Does This Mess With Your Head: At its core, Inception is a simple heist movie. But the specifics make it one of the most complexly plotted movies of the 21st century. For most of the film, Nolan juggles four different timelines, including waking reality and three levels of consciousness, plus flashbacks and alternate mental realities, too. By the end, it’s unclear whether Cobb returns to the real world or not. 

• # 14 of 253 on The 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Breakdown: The 1975 drama based on the novel by Ken Kesey follows R.P. McMurphy, a longtime criminal who convinces the state of Oregon to commit him to a mental institution, thinking he’ll have an easier time there than in jail. Soon, he comes to sympathize with the inmates, whom he believes are victims of the system and not insane. But when he tries to help them rebel and pursue happiness, it leads to deadly consequences. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was just the second film to win the Academy Awards for best picture, best actor, best actress, best director, and best screenplay. While Jack Nicholson’s star-making performance cemented him as one of the best actors of all time, Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched is one of the most terrifying movie villains of all time. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest asks an age-old question about mental illness: are supposedly mentally ill people really ill, or is it the way society treats them. While it might offer a dated depiction of mental illness by suggesting that it’s just something that can be inflicted on an otherwise healthy person, it still raises questions that are thought-provoking today. On top of that, McMurphy is a complicated character. Does he “help” his fellow inmates because he has their well-being in mind, or are they just weapons in his lifelong war against the system?

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The Breakdown: In 1996, a virus wipes out most of humanity. In 2035, a convict named James Cole is sent back in time to investigate the origins of the virus, which is believed to be the handiwork of a militant eco-terrorist organization, the Army of the 12 Monkeys. However, everything is not quite as it seems, and the film’s events force Coke to consider whether he might just be insane. In the end, he uncovers a conspiracy of a far higher order, but is powerless to stop it. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: It’s a Terry Gilliam movie, which means thought-provoking surrealism with a hefty dash of humor. It also boasts a winning cast including Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Madeleine Stowe, and Christopher Plummer. 12 Monkeys is considered a classic in both the sci-fi and psychological thriller genres, enough to warrant a TV remake on SyFy.

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Here we have a movie that blends two mind-bending subjects, time travel and mental illness. Time travel is already a thorny topic in fiction because it invites all sorts of questions about cause and effect. Adding mental illness to the equation only further complicates things. It’s the kind of movie that needs multiple viewings to be fully appreciate. 

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The Breakdown: Told in two parallel timelines, Identity tells the story of Malcom, a man who’s on trial for a mass murder at a desert motel. It also recounts the events of the murders. Eventually, it’s revealed that Malcom has dissociative identity disorder, meaning he has multiple personalities, and that one of them is the killer. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: Identity was profitable, raising over $90 million off a $28 million budget. It’s the kind of movie that keeps you guessing until the end, and probably even beyond that. But, sometimes the line between “compelling” and “confusing” can be blurry. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Dissociative Identity Disorder only afflicts about 1.5% of the world population (and not really in the way it’s portrayed in movies) but it’s become a popular movie trope. Having a main character with multiple personalities is both prime actor bait as well as a recipe to keep the audience on their toes. When done well, it’s an effective cinematic technique to upend expectations, which is what storytelling is all about. 

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The Breakdown: A man named Leonard Shelby suffers from a condition that makes him completely unable to create short-term memories, forcing him to leave handwritten notes for himself and tattoo important information onto his body. His goal? Find whoever killed his wife and caused his situation.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Director Christopher Nolan is widely considered the master of psychological thrillers, although he’s had plenty of success in other genres like superhero movies and war films. Memento was his breakthrough film. If you like Nolan at his most Nolanian, you shouldn’t miss this one. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: For starters, Memento is told partly in reverse chronological order, which is usually a mindscrew to the average moviegoer. But more broadly, Nolan skillfully upends and subverts nearly every piece of information given to the audience. Without spoiling too much, Leonard gets justice but ends up becoming a monster himself. 

• # 32 of 253 on The 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
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Girl, Interrupted

The Breakdown: A biographical drama based on Suzanna Kaysen’s 1993 memoir, about her time being institutionalized at a mental hospital in 1967. As young Susannah bonds with her fellow inmates, she’s diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. This forces her to make a choice: accept treatment, or rebel, as her new friend Lisa urges her to. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: Angelina Jolie earned the 1999 academy award for best supporting actress for her performance as Lisa. But hers is just one of many strong performances in a film that presents mental illness not as a plot device but as a fact of life. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Girl, Interrupted doesn’t use mental illness as a justification for cinematic spectacle. Yet in the end, mental illness does play a similar role by making the audience question what’s true and what’s not. In this case, each of the characters has to grapple with the fact that their mental illness may or may not alter their personalities, which may or may not make them culpable for their behavior. There are no clear answers. In this case, mental illness is just as messy as it is in real life.

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A Cure for Wellness

The Breakdown: Lockhart, a young executive at a New York financial services firm is sent to Switzerland to retrieve the CEO, Robert Pembroke, who is believed to have gone insane and is confined at a “wellness center.” After a car crash, he becomes a patient himself, but his treatment turns out to be a nightmare. Turns out, the head of the facility, Dr. Volmer, is a centuries-old baron who’s obsessed with producing a pure-blooded heir, convinced that fathering a child with his only daughter Hannah is the only way to do it, and determined to overcome any obstacle including Hannah’s infertility.

Why It’s Worth Watching: This is the kind of psychological horror/thriller movie that’s made for aficionados. Director Gore Verbinski cited numerous sources of inspiration , including the 1924 Thomas Mann novel The Magic Mountain.

How Does This Mess With Your Head: The Cure for Wellness is built on a sturdy horror setup: what if someone’s medical caregiver was actually their greatest threat? We’re all conditioned to trust medical professionals, but The Cure for Wellness subverts this by putting Lockhart in the care of a literal monster. Volmer designs Lockhart’s “treatment” specifically to addle his mind, and, like Lockhart, the audience is never quite sure what’s real and what’s not.

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A Beautiful Mind

The Breakdown: A biographical look at the life of John Nash, a mid-20th century American mathematician who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. While high-level mathematical concepts like cryptography are relatively simple for Nash, more mundane situations like dating are not. Eventually, Nash is confronted with the possibility that his high-stakes lifestyle involving Soviet espionage is largely the product of his affliction, and that most of his “colleagues” are figments of his imagination. From then on, Nash’s greatest challenge is overcoming his own hallucinations. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: A Beautiful Mind gives a compelling look at an historical figure who was previously unknown to most audiences, using Nash’s mental illness as a unique angle to explore his story. It also won four Academy Awards, including best director for Ron Howard and best picture.

How Does This Mess With Your Head: A Beautiful Mind utilizes Nash’s condition to present a story that’s far different than most biopics. Just like Nash himself, the audience is left in the dark about the reality of the world around him until well into the story. When Nash’s concept of reality is fundamentally altered, the audience similarly has to question everything they thought they knew.

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The Breakdown: The Master is Paul Thomas Anderson’s take on cults, in particular a not-so-veiled depiction of Scientology. Freddie Quell is a disaffected World War II veteran who finds his way into the fold of Lancaster Dodd, an L. Ron Hubbard-esque religious leader. As Freddie gains more responsibility in “the Cause,” he’s forced to confront whether it’s legitimate or just a scam, and whether his life has any meaning outside the Cause.

Why It’s Worth Watching: The trifecta of Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams deliver riveting performances that convincingly portray how people fall under the sway of pseudo-religions. It’s also classic Paul Thomas Anderson fare, combining a grandiose story from the dark side of American history with a hefty dose of humor. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: In this film, the audience is made to sympathize with Freddy from the very beginning, as reprehensible as he might be. This means sitting with Freddy as Lancaster slowly but surely indoctrinates him into the religion. This takes the form of a series of interrogations meant to pry out the truth of Freddy’s personalities, but in reality are just meant to break his will. It’s a disturbing portrayal of manipulation and acquiescence that’s too often seen in real life. 

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The Breakdown: Facing an internal affairs investigation, LAPD detective Will Dormer is sent to Alaska along with his partner to investigate the murder of a 17-year-old. After Dormer appears to mistakenly shoot and kill his partner, Hap Eckhart, who was supposedly set to testify against him, he must race to solve the murder and prevent the killer from killing again before he himself is brought to justice. Making matters worse, the endless Arctic daylight leaves him unable to sleep for days, making his entire experience of the events unreliable. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: First, you have the Christopher Nolan factor. While this isn’t his most mind-bending movie, it still plays with perception and reality in a way that Nolan fans will find satisfying. Beyond that, it features satisfyingly restrained performances from Al Pacino and Robin Williams. 

How Does This Mess With Your Head: The movie never quite presents a clear version of events and keeps the audience off-balance. Did Dormer murder his partner, or did Finch set him up? Is Dormer’s sleep-deprived version of events reliable at all? Even if you believe Dormer is innocent, it’s hard to stomach how he handles the investigation. 

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Hide and Seek

The Breakdown: Psychologist David Calloway relocates to Upstate New York with his young daughter, Emily, after the apparent suicide of his wife, Alison. After the move, Emily begins believing in an imaginary friend, “Charlie,” just as violent things start happening. David eventually discovers that he has dissociative identity disorder and has been Charlie all along, forcing Emily into a battle of survival.

Why It’s Worth Watching: While Hide and Seek only impressed 12% of critics, per Rotten Tomatoes , it did much better with audiences, 50% of whom liked it. Hide and Seek also made $123 million at the box office. Plus, Robert DeNiro elevates pretty much any movie he’s in.

How Does This Mess With Your Head: Many films about psychology deal with mental illness, especially the varieties that warp a person’s perception of reality. Hide and Seek spends its first half setting you up to believe that it’s a traditional “spooky kid” horror movie, only to flip the script and make Dad the villain.

• # 94 of 253 on The 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
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The Prince of Tides

The Breakdown: Nick Nolte plays Tom Wingo, a married high school football coach who travels to New York City to help his suicidal twin sister Savannah. This takes the form of a series of therapy sessions with Dr. Lowenstein. In their sessions, Tom uncovers a history of repressed childhood trauma while also falling for Lowenstein. 

Why It’s Worth Watching: It’s a best picture nominee and a cultural touchstone, being frequently parodied and referenced in TV shows and movies. On top of that it’s a compelling drama and one of only three films directed by Streisand, the other two being Yentl and The Mirror Has Two Faces .

How Does This Mess With Your Head: The Prince of Tides deals with some heavy psychological topics like childhood trauma and dissociative identity disorder . Rather than use these situations for shock value, however, it presents a much more realistic and grounded version of them. But this doesn’t make the story any less impactful. 

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Movies Every Psychology Major Should See

This is a list of movies I recommend if you are studying psychology in school, or have a general interest in psychology.

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1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

R | 133 min | Drama

In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.

Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson , Louise Fletcher , Michael Berryman , Peter Brocco

Votes: 1,071,021 | Gross: $112.00M

2. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi

In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell , Patrick Magee , Michael Bates , Warren Clarke

Votes: 880,336 | Gross: $6.21M

One of the most iconic film depictions of juvenile delinquency.

3. Fight Club (1999)

R | 139 min | Drama

An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt , Edward Norton , Meat Loaf , Zach Grenier

Votes: 2,319,359 | Gross: $37.03M

4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster , Anthony Hopkins , Scott Glenn , Ted Levine

Votes: 1,546,049 | Gross: $130.74M

5. Taxi Driver (1976)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro , Jodie Foster , Cybill Shepherd , Albert Brooks

Votes: 919,049 | Gross: $28.26M

6. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.

Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker , Tracy Arnold , Tom Towles , Mary Demas

Votes: 40,370 | Gross: $0.61M

7. Fatal Attraction (1987)

R | 119 min | Drama, Thriller

A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.

Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Michael Douglas , Glenn Close , Anne Archer , Ellen Latzen

Votes: 96,936 | Gross: $156.65M

8. The Cable Guy (1996)

PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller

A designer makes a grievious mistake when he rejects the friendship of a borderline cable guy.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Jim Carrey , Matthew Broderick , Leslie Mann , Jack Black

Votes: 177,879 | Gross: $60.24M

9. Vertigo (1958)

PG | 128 min | Mystery, Romance, Thriller

A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart , Kim Novak , Barbara Bel Geddes , Tom Helmore

Votes: 426,347 | Gross: $3.20M

10. The Deer Hunter (1978)

R | 183 min | Drama, War

An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.

Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro , Christopher Walken , John Cazale , John Savage

Votes: 361,775 | Gross: $48.98M

11. Manhunter (1986)

R | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: William Petersen , Kim Greist , Joan Allen , Brian Cox

Votes: 80,811 | Gross: $8.62M

12. Persona (1966)

Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Thriller

A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bibi Andersson , Liv Ullmann , Margaretha Krook , Gunnar Björnstrand

Votes: 130,715

13. Eraserhead (1977)

Not Rated | 89 min | Fantasy, Horror

Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Jack Nance , Charlotte Stewart , Allen Joseph , Jeanne Bates

Votes: 127,265 | Gross: $7.00M

14. Blue Velvet (1986)

R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini , Kyle MacLachlan , Dennis Hopper , Laura Dern

Votes: 215,401 | Gross: $8.55M

15. Repulsion (1965)

Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

A sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Catherine Deneuve , Ian Hendry , John Fraser , Yvonne Furneaux

Votes: 57,227

16. Straw Dogs (1971)

R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.

Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Susan George , Peter Vaughan , T.P. McKenna

Votes: 64,443

17. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

R | 155 min | Drama, Romance

Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.

Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands , Peter Falk , Fred Draper , Lady Rowlands

Votes: 28,647 | Gross: $13.34M

18. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

R | 102 min | Drama

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..

Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Ellen Burstyn , Jared Leto , Jennifer Connelly , Marlon Wayans

Votes: 897,457 | Gross: $3.64M

19. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

R | 101 min | Crime, Drama

A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matt Dillon , Kelly Lynch , James Le Gros , Heather Graham

Votes: 40,556 | Gross: $4.73M

20. Trainspotting (1996)

R | 93 min | Drama

Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.

Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Ewan McGregor , Ewen Bremner , Jonny Lee Miller , Kevin McKidd

Votes: 724,824 | Gross: $16.50M

21. M (1931)

Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre , Ellen Widmann , Inge Landgut , Otto Wernicke

Votes: 168,254 | Gross: $0.03M

22. Platoon (1986)

R | 120 min | Drama, War

Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen , Tom Berenger , Willem Dafoe , Keith David

Votes: 438,962 | Gross: $138.53M

23. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller

When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel , Tim Roth , Michael Madsen , Chris Penn

Votes: 1,086,781 | Gross: $2.83M

24. Se7en (1995)

R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman , Brad Pitt , Kevin Spacey , Andrew Kevin Walker

Votes: 1,795,583 | Gross: $100.13M

25. Peeping Tom (1960)

Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.

Director: Michael Powell | Stars: Karlheinz Böhm , Anna Massey , Moira Shearer , Maxine Audley

Votes: 39,185 | Gross: $0.08M

26. The Conversation (1974)

PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman , John Cazale , Allen Garfield , Frederic Forrest

Votes: 121,660 | Gross: $4.42M

27. Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Passed | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir

A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.

Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden , Gloria Swanson , Erich von Stroheim , Nancy Olson

Votes: 236,151

28. Mulholland Drive (2001)

R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts , Laura Harring , Justin Theroux , Jeanne Bates

Votes: 383,316 | Gross: $7.22M

29. Patton (1970)

GP | 172 min | Biography, Drama, War

The World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton .

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: George C. Scott , Karl Malden , Stephen Young , Michael Strong

Votes: 107,858 | Gross: $61.70M

30. The Lost Weekend (1945)

Passed | 101 min | Drama, Film-Noir

The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.

Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Ray Milland , Jane Wyman , Phillip Terry , Howard Da Silva

Votes: 40,153 | Gross: $9.46M

31. My Left Foot (1989)

R | 103 min | Biography, Drama

Christy Brown , born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis , Brenda Fricker , Alison Whelan , Kirsten Sheridan

Votes: 79,682 | Gross: $14.74M

32. Paris, Texas (1984)

R | 145 min | Drama

Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.

Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton , Nastassja Kinski , Dean Stockwell , Sam Berry

Votes: 118,523 | Gross: $2.18M

33. The African Queen (1951)

PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.

Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart , Katharine Hepburn , Robert Morley , Peter Bull

Votes: 84,233 | Gross: $0.54M

34. The Wrestler (2008)

R | 109 min | Drama, Sport

A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.

Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke , Marisa Tomei , Evan Rachel Wood , Mark Margolis

Votes: 319,722 | Gross: $26.24M

35. Black Swan (2010)

R | 108 min | Drama, Thriller

Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.

Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Natalie Portman , Mila Kunis , Vincent Cassel , Winona Ryder

Votes: 823,455 | Gross: $106.95M

36. The Shining (1980)

R | 146 min | Drama, Horror

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson , Shelley Duvall , Danny Lloyd , Scatman Crothers

Votes: 1,104,771 | Gross: $44.02M

37. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

R | 116 min | Drama, War

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine , R. Lee Ermey , Vincent D'Onofrio , Adam Baldwin

Votes: 789,442 | Gross: $46.36M

38. Jacob's Ladder (I) (1990)

R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

Mourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.

Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Tim Robbins , Elizabeth Peña , Danny Aiello , Matt Craven

Votes: 117,716 | Gross: $26.12M

39. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,781 | Gross: $70.00M

40. Rain Man (1988)

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,036 | Gross: $178.80M

41. Kids (1995)

Unrated | 91 min | Drama

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.

Director: Larry Clark | Stars: Leo Fitzpatrick , Justin Pierce , Chloë Sevigny , Sarah Henderson

Votes: 84,548 | Gross: $7.42M

42. Sling Blade (1996)

R | 135 min | Drama

Karl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.

Director: Billy Bob Thornton | Stars: Billy Bob Thornton , Dwight Yoakam , J.T. Walsh , John Ritter

Votes: 98,720 | Gross: $24.48M

43. Apocalypse Now (1979)

R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War

A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen , Marlon Brando , Robert Duvall , Frederic Forrest

Votes: 709,156 | Gross: $83.47M

44. Heavenly Creatures (1994)

R | 99 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

Two teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Melanie Lynskey , Kate Winslet , Sarah Peirse , Diana Kent

Votes: 67,355 | Gross: $3.05M

45. Dead Ringers (1988)

R | 116 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

Twin gynecologists take full advantage of the fact that nobody can tell them apart, until their relationship begins to deteriorate over a woman.

Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeremy Irons , Geneviève Bujold , Heidi von Palleske , Barbara Gordon

Votes: 53,479 | Gross: $9.13M

46. The Snake Pit (1948)

Approved | 108 min | Drama, Mystery

A detailed chronicle of a woman during her stay in a mental institution.

Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Olivia de Havilland , Mark Stevens , Leo Genn , Celeste Holm

Votes: 8,412 | Gross: $10.00M

47. As Good as It Gets (1997)

PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.

Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson , Helen Hunt , Greg Kinnear , Cuba Gooding Jr.

Votes: 318,070 | Gross: $148.48M

48. Memento (2000)

R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller

A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce , Carrie-Anne Moss , Joe Pantoliano , Mark Boone Junior

Votes: 1,321,309 | Gross: $25.54M

49. American Beauty (1999)

R | 122 min | Drama

A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.

Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey , Annette Bening , Thora Birch , Wes Bentley

Votes: 1,209,629 | Gross: $130.10M

50. The Breakfast Club (1985)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez , Judd Nelson , Molly Ringwald , Ally Sheedy

Votes: 435,931 | Gross: $45.88M

51. Chinatown (1974)

R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson , Faye Dunaway , John Huston , Perry Lopez

Votes: 349,393

52. Fargo (1996)

R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller

Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.

Directors: Joel Coen , Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy , Frances McDormand , Steve Buscemi , Peter Stormare

Votes: 725,659 | Gross: $24.61M

Mostly because of the character Gaear Grimsrud, who is a great example of anti-social personality disorder

53. The Vanishing (1988)

Not Rated | 107 min | Mystery, Thriller

Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.

Director: George Sluizer | Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu , Gene Bervoets , Johanna ter Steege , Gwen Eckhaus

Votes: 43,999

The villain in this film is another good example of anti-social personality disorder

54. Girl, Interrupted (1999)

R | 127 min | Biography, Drama

A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Winona Ryder , Angelina Jolie , Clea DuVall , Brittany Murphy

Votes: 210,928 | Gross: $28.87M

55. Through a Glass Darkly (1961)

Not Rated | 90 min | Drama

Recently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family in their island home, only to slip from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson , Gunnar Björnstrand , Max von Sydow , Lars Passgård

Votes: 27,350

A great study of schizophrenia

56. Wild Strawberries (1957)

Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance

After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Victor Sjöström , Bibi Andersson , Ingrid Thulin , Gunnar Björnstrand

Votes: 114,822

57. Good Will Hunting (1997)

R | 126 min | Drama, Romance

Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams , Matt Damon , Ben Affleck , Stellan Skarsgård

Votes: 1,065,837 | Gross: $138.43M

58. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery

A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe , Ed Harris , Jennifer Connelly , Christopher Plummer

Votes: 985,722 | Gross: $170.74M

59. Shutter Island (2010)

R | 138 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

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.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio , Emily Mortimer , Mark Ruffalo , Ben Kingsley

Votes: 1,453,127 | Gross: $128.01M

60. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper , Jennifer Lawrence , Robert De Niro , Jacki Weaver

Votes: 742,103 | Gross: $132.09M

61. The King's Speech (2010)

R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History

The story of King George VI , his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.

Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth , Geoffrey Rush , Helena Bonham Carter , Derek Jacobi

Votes: 707,458 | Gross: $138.80M

62. Sybil (1976)

TV-14 | 66 min | Biography, Drama

A young woman whose childhood was so harrowing to her that she developed sixteen different personalities is treated by a doctor.

Stars: Joanne Woodward , Sally Field , Brad Davis , Martine Bartlett

Votes: 7,452

63. American Psycho (2000)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror

A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale , Justin Theroux , Josh Lucas , Bill Sage

Votes: 713,715 | Gross: $15.07M

64. A Dangerous Method (2011)

R | 99 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gives birth to psychoanalysis.

Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Michael Fassbender , Keira Knightley , Viggo Mortensen , Vincent Cassel

Votes: 108,267 | Gross: $5.70M

65. The Soloist (2009)

PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music

A newspaper journalist discovers a homeless musical genius and tries to improve his situation.

Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Jamie Foxx , Robert Downey Jr. , Catherine Keener , Tom Hollander

Votes: 55,375 | Gross: $31.67M

66. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt , Cate Blanchett , Tilda Swinton , Julia Ormond

Votes: 694,974 | Gross: $127.51M

67. Still Alice (2014)

PG-13 | 101 min | Drama

A linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

Directors: Richard Glatzer , Wash Westmoreland | Stars: Julianne Moore , Alec Baldwin , Kristen Stewart , Kate Bosworth

Votes: 143,351 | Gross: $18.75M

68. Gone Girl (2014)

R | 149 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Ben Affleck , Rosamund Pike , Neil Patrick Harris , Tyler Perry

Votes: 1,065,771 | Gross: $167.77M

69. What About Bob? (1991)

PG | 99 min | Comedy

A successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.

Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Bill Murray , Richard Dreyfuss , Julie Hagerty , Charlie Korsmo

Votes: 74,400 | Gross: $63.71M

70. Primordial (2015)

TV-MA | 122 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

Valerie Graves, a misanthropic, disillusioned woman in her mid-twenties, is haunted by sadistic urges that she has struggled to repress since childhood.

Director: Eric Widing | Stars: Marylee Osborne , Erin R. Ryan , Christopher Rowley , Adam Scott Clevenger

71. When Nietzsche Wept (2007)

PG-13 | 105 min | Drama

Viennese doctor Josef Breuer meets with philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to help him deal with his despair.

Director: Pinchas Perry | Stars: Ben Cross , Armand Assante , Joanna Pacula , Michal Yannai

Votes: 4,863

72. Ordinary People (1980)

R | 124 min | Drama

The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland , Mary Tyler Moore , Judd Hirsch , Timothy Hutton

Votes: 56,616 | Gross: $54.80M

73. The Machinist (2004)

R | 101 min | Drama, Thriller

An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.

Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Christian Bale , Jennifer Jason Leigh , Aitana Sánchez-Gijón , John Sharian

Votes: 415,095 | Gross: $1.08M

74. Side Effects (I) (2013)

R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

A young woman's world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects.

Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Rooney Mara , Channing Tatum , Jude Law , Catherine Zeta-Jones

Votes: 197,037 | Gross: $32.17M

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Psychology in Film Undergraduate Course Syllabus

VIEWING SCHEDULE – I suggest that you highlight your group’s column

Length of movie is in parentheses (minutes); movies in bold are shown on Thursday evenings (see course schedule);

L indicates on reserve in the library.  

Psychological Analysis of Five Movies in 2800 Words

Synopsis : An analysis of a variety of psychological concepts employed in film from Trauma and Delusions to Stigmas and the Psychological distress experienced by one’s support system.

Introduction: Film has always been an evocative way to introduce huge swathes of people to psychological concepts that require their own space in colloquial discourse. It encourages empathy among audience members and help them live vicariously through the characters on the screen, many of whom would have been based on real-life individuals. Over the years, the approach to psychology in films has moved from helping the filmmakers engage the audiences’ collective psyche and into showing the lived experiences of people with psychological disorders. An effective medium of communication which has grown to contribute greatly to societal discourse on topics of mental health, what it means to suffer from psychological disorders, and the social approach to victims of mental illness; film has platformed several stories and experiences like no other medium can.

This essay looks at five movies, some with overarching themes of psychology and some with themes that run as undercurrents to the plot of the film. I delve into an analysis of how a variety of psychological concepts are employed and treated in these movies, consequently providing a critique of each of these films approach to said psychological concepts.

• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)- Trauma, Grief, Depression, Eating disorder, Support systems, Stigmas and Social harassment.

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a film showcasing a complex array of psychological themes from coping with grief to social pressures and the psychological toll that consumes a persons support system. Gilbert, played by Johnny Depp, works at a grocery store to support his family- his seemingly depressed mother who suffers from an eating disorder, his mentally disabled younger brother and two sisters. His mother, Bonnie Grape suffers from an eating disorder as well as what seems to be severe depression, both chronic illnesses that swallowed her whole after her husband took his own life in the basement of their home. Bonnie’s distress, trauma and grief consequently leaves her unable to leave the house for seven years, binge eating throughout the day and dissociating in front of the television in order to cope.

Arnie’s mental illness causes him to climb the towns water tanks every chance he gets, agitating the local police department and providing entertainment to the unsympathetic townspeople. Eating disorders, depression, developmental disorders and atypical behaviour are still heavily stigmatized and the sight of the seemingly dysfunctional Grape family provides entertainment to the people of Endora, which is once step too close to being a ghost town. The townspeople offer no support to the suffering Grape, often mocking them in public. When Arnie climbs the water tower for the third time in a week, the police officers arrest him and take him into custody agitating Bonnie who finally leaves the house after seven years to retrieve him. The town gathers into a crowd as the Grape family leaves the station kids gaping, teenagers laughing and adults taking pictures of Bonnie as they make their way to the car.

The judgement and harassment faced by Bonnie and Arnie contributed greatly to Bonnie’s dangerously unhealth state showing how supportive friends and family and safe societal atmospheres can make a huge difference in the life of the victims of mental illness.

The movie also traces the contours of psychological concepts such as senses of self and identity. Gilbert, the breadwinner and caretaker of his family, isn’t able to answer the question, ‘What do you want ?’. When he does manage to find the words to articulate his desires, Gilbert only lists the things he wants for each of his family members. ‘I want a new brain for Arnie’ was one of the most evocative lines in the movie, throwing light not only on Arnie’s perceived half-baked life but also the psychological torment experienced by his support system. A characteristic feature that makes this film so unique is the emphasis it places on the caretakers of those ravaged by mental illness, the patience cultivated by them and their grave mistakes as well.

2. Submarine (2010) – Adolescent psychology, Depression and Delusions.

Richard Ayoade’s directorial debut is a ‘coming-of-age’ film that tells the tale of Oliver Tate a 15-year-old boy from Wales. An awkward sort of outlier, Tate’s character is an interesting one with priorities that range from losing his virginity to fixing his parents marriage.

Oliver displays clear signs of teenage angst explaining that he finds that the only way to get through life is to imagine himself ‘in and entirely disconnected reality’, he dissociates routinely imagining how people would react to his death creating a short film in his head with all his classmates grieving his departure dramatically. The whole film consequently plays like a never-ending delusion depicting the way Oliver would want to see his life cinematically portrayed.

Ayoade employs two concepts known in adolescent development psychology, namely: The personal fable and invisible audience belief. Personal fable refers to the adolescent belief that they compared to all others are somehow unique, heroic and destined for fame and fortune. In the film, Oliver’s narration of his ‘death delusion’ prompts the viewer to adopt the notion that Oliver views himself as almost God-like, a celebrity who has vigils all over the country and who’s death shook Wales as a whole. He imagines being filmed and constantly says, ‘I wish my life were a movie’ and ‘I constantly rehearse the end scene’ when speaking in reference to the sequence of events that comprise his life at that moment. The invisible audience is a conception that has adolescents convinced that they are the focus of everyone’s attention and concern. The entire movie runs on this perception and the viewers of this film comprise the audience that Oliver Tate constantly imagines.

The movie also dabbles in relationship psychology as it traces the complexities and complications of marriage and young love. His parent’s marriage is in shambles and he attempts to save it by impersonating his father to write letters to his mother, encouraging the two to communicate and spy on his mother who he thinks is having an affair.

The film also covers more severe psychological themes such as mental illness, more specifically bouts of depression something Lloyd Tate, Oliver’s father, often suffers from. Towards the end of the movie, Oliver begins to emulate the depressive behaviour of his father, drinking out of the same mug and wearing the same robe as he stares lifelessly into the void. The film is overall a spectacular depiction of sensitive issues including teenage angst, life-threatening tumours and crumbling marriages. It treats dark subjects such as death with such delicacy that one can only expect from Ayoade, an expert in dry humour and delivery.

• Little Miss Sunshine (2006)– Drug addiction, Narcissistic tendencies, suicidal attempts, childhood & adolescent troubles, self-image and social norms.

Directed by couple Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine packages psychological dysfunction in a controversially unique way. This dark comedy presents drug addiction, narcissistic tendencies, teenage angst, suicide attempts and self-image in a way that engages the audience in a subtle yet unsettling manner. The film follows the anything- but- peaceful road trip of the Hoover family as they rush to the child beauty pageant that Olive, the youngest, so desperately wants to partake in.

Each character grapples with a different psychological torture and can only be described the same matter-of-fact way their struggles are portrayed in the film : Grandpa has a drug addiction and ends up dying from an overdose, his seven year old granddaughter Olive, who reports his lifeless body to her parents, struggles with body image and compares herself to her pageant competitors, her brother Dwayne hates everyone and basks in the comfort of his sadness, reading Nietzsche and refusing to speak, his uncle Frank joins the family on the road trip having attempted suicide, his sister Sheryl struggles to keep the family sane and her husband Richard Hoover who is obsessed with winning struggles to make ends meet and be the winner he so desperately wants to be.

In spite of this watered-down depiction of complex mental illnesses and psychological distress, the movie does a great job at bringing these stigmatized concepts to the table. One of the earliest scenes which involves Uncle Frank, very frankly, telling his seven-year-old niece why he attempted suicide, sets the tone for the rest of the movie which continues to treat sensitive subjects in a darkly humorous manner, speaking to the catharsis of making light of one’s own trauma.

The film brings a variety of psychological concepts to the table, conjuring a set-up rife with mental health problems and multi-layered characters that psychology and film students can meticulously disseminate. Richard Hoover, exhibits narcissistic tendencies, injecting his advice and opinions into every situation, infuriating Sheryl and Frank both. He projects his own shortcomings onto his family and even shamelessly pushes his seven-year-old daughter into being self-conscious of her body. The movie also covers alienation and the disillusionment caused by The American Dream. Its directors manage to provoke the audience into feeling a great deal of sympathy for this family which simply can’t seem to do anything right. Dwayne submerges himself in nihilism, caring only about his dream to be a jet pilot, a dream that vaporises in front of his eyes in a millisecond.

Frank’s depression and suicide attempt acts as an undercurrent and doesn’t seem to define him as the film moves along, his character develops layers as the audience learns more about his intellect and life. Dwayne and the Grand-father are also shown to suffer from psychological distress with the latter developing a fatal drug addiction.

Little Miss Sunshine is a humorous yet unsettling film that prompts discourse on a variety of topics from the absurdity of children’s beauty pageants to notions of success within a capitalist system, from body image struggles in children to conversing with them about suicide. It is a deeply evocative film that shines light on psychological distress and disorders without allowing them to take the stage as they often do within the minds of their victims.

• Short Term Twelve (2013)- Trauma, Abuse, Coping mechanisms and Catharsis.

Written and directed by Dustin Daniel Cretton, Short term 12 is a film set in a temporary care-unit for ‘at-risk’ teens. This movie is a psychological one entirely, its implicit mention of a wide variety of psychological issues speaking to the insurmountable trauma experienced by these characters. Short term 12 dives face first into the complexity of trust issues, intimacy issues, the psychology of physical and emotional vulnerability, suicidal thoughts and attempts, abuse, abandonment, coping mechanisms and progress.

The horrific experiences of abuse, neglect and harassment of these youth combined with their developing adolescent combination is a lethal combination that calls for utmost care and delicacy. Each character copes with the torment they have experienced in different ways: Marcus finds an outlet in rapping; Sammy finds comfort in his toys and Jayden in sketching and writing stories.

Still, the movie successfully carves out the slivers of light that permeate the lives of those dejected by their circumstance through heart-warming scenes such as the one where all the kids make birthday cards for Jayden. The authentic and raw portrayal of Grace’s struggle to grapple with her past and the consequent torment it has imposed on her relationship is applaudable. The film is able to capture the impossibility of navigating trauma and its symptoms, the difficulty of accepting ones’ past and the frustrating but frankly uncontrollable consequences it has one a victim’s relationships. The discomfort and unsettling feeling caused by several scenes in the film are necessary reality checks for those who aren’t aware of the horrific experiences that make up the reality of several American

The movie does a great job at exposing the audience to a wide variety of psychological themes in the same disorganised manner as they manifest in real life but it has its shortcomings as well. The film unravels a characters unfavourable (to say the least) backstory and, through vague dialogue and symbolic manifestations of their experiences, forces them into a therapeutic confrontation with their past and consequent catharsis. Encouraging help seeking behaviours among those who have suffered repeatedly throughout their childhood is much harder in real life than as depicted on the screen. The rushed sequence of events that makes up the ending of the movie leaves the audience wondering if the people Cretton based this story on were as lucky to have the happy endings as their on-screen counterparts.

• The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019) – Trauma, Grief, Support systems and Sense of self.

A cinematic masterpiece with a heart-warming narrative and a star-studded cast, The Peanut Butter Falcon tells the story of Zak, a 22-year-old with down syndrome who escapes the nursing home the state has placed him in after his family abandoned him. Zak who’s ultimate goal is to become a wrestling champion, journeys through North Carolina with his new friend Tyler as the two try to reach Arden where Zak’s hero ‘The Salt Water Redneck’ runs a wrestling camp.

The film covers a wide variety of psychological concepts from intellectual disabilities to dealing with trauma and grief. It disseminates the social treatment of people with down syndrome by depicting the harassment they undergo as well as the coddling they experience at the hands of their caregivers who often underestimate them and consequently exhibit overprotective behaviour that limits them reaching their true potential. Finally, the movie touches on themes of family and the importance of a loving and caring support system.

The movie challenges stereotypes and perceptions of people with disabilities, their capabilities and their need for personhood. It also approaches how both neurotypical and neurodivergent people experience and grapple with trauma. Zak deals with being abandoned and placed in a nursing home he knows he doesn’t belong in, while Tyler deals with the loss of his brother who died in Tyler’s car with him behind the wheel, Eleanor also is shown, although briefly, grieving with the death of her husband.

One of the most raw and evocative scenes in the movie delves into ideas of self-worth. As they lay in front of a fire, camping on the beach, Zak responds to Tyler statement that Zak’s a hero, saying, “I can’t be a hero, I’m a down syndrome.” Zak’s belief in himself or lack thereof was reinforced by coaches and teachers, and even caregivers who discouraged his ambitions and dreams. The movie makes political comments on primarily psychological questions regarding a disabled individual’s right to self-determination. It directly calls out the underestimation and overprotection of those who are not given the freedom to attempt and achieve some variation of independence, a feat most are capable of doing.

The character Zak being built around Zack Gottsagen’s personality and passion also impacts the authenticity of the film which does a great job in highlighting the reality of psychological impairments and the behavioural manifestations of it, something that successfully stabs at the stigmas associated with disorders like down syndrome. Directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, The Peanut Butter Falcon does an impeccable job of giving a voice to people with down syndrome, showcasing their ambition, drive and capabilities.

Conclusion:

Looking at the film through a psychological lens is simple when a viewer begins to ask questions about the characters, their backgrounds, and the social commentary made by the filmmakers. Psychology is not always center stage in films, often lurking backstage but nevertheless pulling the strings. Observing the systems that govern the way the characters think, feel, and behave allows one to look deeper into the psychology of a film. This could be the social environment of a certain town, or the political atmosphere of a city or even the value systems of a family.

Although largely fictitious these movies help audiences understand how psychological disorders and their treatment by professionals and society as a whole, manifest in real life. Analyzing films through a psychological lens is imperative if you want to gain a comprehensive understanding about the myriad of social, political and economic factors that determine the conditions in which a person’s psyche exists. The film thus becomes the most effective medium capable of communicating a plethora of overarching factors that determine how a person’s mental illness or distress manifests. Oftentimes, films will make political and social comments on how psychological disorders are treated in society: The Peanut Butter Falcon, Little Miss Sunshine, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape do a great job of this.

Watching movies like Little Miss Sunshine, Short Term 12 and The Peanut Butter Falcon can deepen ones understanding not only about psychology but society as well. These movies have helped me gain a holistic understanding of how psychology operated in society and societies’ consequent treatment of these individuals. I find that engaging with a movie with psychological themes is a very humbling experience, that always opens your eyes no matter how qualified or well-read you are in psychology.

Also Read: How to get a psychology degree online

Shivanka Gautam

Shivanka Gautam is a student at FLAME University, studying Psychology and Literary & Cultural studies. She has a passion for Critical theory, Cultural Affairs, Political Philosophy and Academia.

Adolescence

Richard linklater's film boyhood is a must-see for all parents..

Posted April 1, 2015

The award-winning movie Boyhood takes us through the high points, low points, and turning points of one boy’s circuitous path to adulthood—or at least to emerging adulthood, according to Jeffrey Arnett. 1 In each new year of filming, Linklater skillfully tailored the story’s events to fit the child actors’ current developmental levels and issues. The resulting narrative is like life itself: often meandering, occasionally jarring, with unexpected plot twists that make sense only in retrospect.

The film’s artistic merits are obvious, as recognized by Metacritics’ 100% rating, http://www.metacritic.com/movie/boyhood ,

although not by an Academy Award for Best Picture. But an unsung merit of this film is its near-perfect depiction of child development milestones from ages 6 to 18. For example, in middle childhood we watch Mason Jr. adjust to school, endure sibling rivalry, and form same-sex friendships, including a best friend. In adolescence , we see him make opposite- sex friends, including girlfriends, argue with his parents, dabble with alcohol , drugs, and sex, and start to think about his own identity and the meaning of life. Of course, Mason Jr. also experiences plenty of non-normative milestones due to his parents’ divorce , such as frequent moves and a host of blended family situations, some of which fall far short of ideal. Yet these transitions are also becoming increasingly common for many children and adolescents in contemporary society.

Arguably, the film hits its truest notes in the teenage years. Mason Jr.’s feelings of being different and his attempts to be authentic in the face of high school hegemony rang especially true to me, with my own similar struggles three decades ago in a small Texas city. New research tells us that teens who are highly reflective in early adolescence report lower well-being. 2,3 By older adolescence, however, reflective teens who are better able to make sense of the low points and high points of their lives experience better well-being. 2 By the end of the film, we see Mason Jr. starting to get a life that fits his aspirations and his sense of self. Like most 18-year-olds, or even 48-year-olds, the curve to self-understanding is asymptotic. Do we ever really get it? Mason Jr., however, seems well on his way.

I pronounce Richard Linklater a developmental filmmaker, whether he is focusing on the development of a relationship, captured in snapshots once every 10 years in his Before Sunrise trilogy, or in this longitudinal epic. Both methods produce astounding insight into the development of persons. Boyhood should be required watching for any student of child and adolescent development, as well as for all parents of boys AND girls.

1 Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55 , 469-480.

2 Chen, Y., McAnally, H. M., Wang, Q., & Reese, E. (2012). The coherence of critical event narratives and adolescents' psychological functioning. Memory , 20 , 667-681.

3 McLean, K. C., Breen, A. V., & Fournier, M. A. (2010). Constructing the self in early, middle, and late adolescent boys: Narrative identity, individuation, and well‐being. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 20, 166-187.

Elaine Reese, Ph.D. , is a professor of psychology at the University of Otago and an editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development.

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Resources: Discussions and Assignments

Module 6 discussion: film critic assignment, assignment: become an abnormal psychology film critic.

Do you like watching movies? Have you ever wanted to be a film critic? Do you enjoy learning about psychological disorders and why people do what they do? Now is your chance to combine what you are learning in a creative way to share with others!

STEP 1: Choose a film that depicts a character suffering from a dissociative disorder or somatic symptom and related disorder. You can find a list of mental disorders in film on Wikipedia if you need ideas. Watch the film of your choosing and provide a short synopsis of what the film was about, how the character met criteria for their diagnosis, whether you believe the film accurately portrayed the character’s mental illness or not, and if you would recommend this film to others learning about psychological disorders. Explain your answers fully within 3-8 minutes.

STEP 2: Create a YouTube video reviewing the film based on the above criteria. You can choose to record yourself talking about the film, incorporate a slide show, use a voiceover, add visuals, etc. Programs like  Animoto or Powtoon , Voicethread , or others may be used. Just make sure any images or audio you use are openly licensed with a  Creative Commons license or similar license. You can search for openly licensed images on the Creative Commons website or on Google’s advanced search option. You can also watch a short video on finding open educational resources (OER) using Google’s advanced search option .

This assignment doesn’t require that you necessarily appear on camera in the YouTube video, but you must answer all of the questions for this assignment. You may use up to 30 seconds worth of clips from the film in your analysis, but that is not required. If you do that, you should include proper APA citations below the video. Share your YouTube video link to submit your work and cite any sources you used outside of the film in APA format with these guidelines from the OWL at Purdue . Have fun and be creative!

STEP 3: Share your video with your classmates by posting in the discussion forum. Commenting on other posts in encouraged, but not required.

Sample Abnormal Psychology Film Critic Rubric