One unexpected surprise while studying psychology has been the opportunity to enjoy favorite movies through a new lens. Currently I am the president of an honor’s society for psychology students (Psi Chi) at Clemson University. Since I love movies I took it as an opportunity to creat a movie series on campus to highlight psychology-themed movies. I compiled a growing list of recent movies that touch on a number of issues. Here is what I have so far. Let me know of any that I missed.

• Prime (2005) – Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, Bryan Greenberg – What happens when someone starts dating their therapist’s daughter? A light-hearted one which is welcome considering most of the titles on this list.
• Proof (2005) – Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal – A family caring for and coping with a brilliant parent suffering from dementia. This one shows a family with a host of issues including guilt, trust, blame, coping with depression, conflicting views about obligation and family roles.
• 50 First Dates (2004) – Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Dan Aykroyd – Henry has found the girl of his dreams, but discovers she has short-term memory loss and forgets him the very next day. Great story about accepting a unique situation, remaining flexible and finding solutions with everyone’s interests in mind.
• The Night Listener (2006) – Robin Williams – In the midst of his crumbling relationship, writer and radio host Gabriel Noone receives a manuscript from a troubled young fan. Despite his friends’ warnings, the fragile Gabriel develops an unsettling relationship with the boy and his blind guardian. There are a number of ways to interpret this story that may include dissociative identity disorder, several types of abuse, and Münchausen syndrome by proxy.
• A Beautiful Mind (2001) – Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly – Loosely based on a true story. Can’t say much without giving away a major part of the movie.
• Girl Interrupted (1999) – Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss, Jared Leto, Jeffrey Tambor, Vanessa Redgrave, Whoopi Goldberg – A patient’s experience in a mental hospital during the 1960’s. A wide range of psychology topics are addressed. Anorexia, incest, trauma, BPD, histrionic personality, restrictive food intake, and on and on and on.
• The Hurt Locker (2008) – Jeremy Renner – Dealing with stress and trauma during the Iraq War, PTSD, team dynamics, survivor guilt.
• American Beauty (1999) – Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning – There is a lot of psychology related material in this one. Infidelity, abuse, mindfulness, infatuation, transformation, pedophilia, reaction formation. One of my favorites.
• Fearless (1993) – Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez – People dealing with emotional trauma and survivor guilt after a plane crash.
• Shutter Island (2010) – Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow – One of the more recent ones that might interest a wider audience. Definitely not the best example of a good clinic.
• The Hours (2002) – Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Jeff Daniels – Three women coping with depression and the social roles they find themselves in. Bipolar disorder, depression, suicide and freedom for the individual to choose when it is appropriate, coping with a terminal illness, personal meaning and narratives. Slow moving and dialog driven. Very rich with important psychology themes.
• Awakenings (1990) – Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, Julie Kavner – Based on the work of Oliver Sacks and his research administering L-Dopa to catatonic patients.
• Crash (2004) – Matt Dillon, Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Tony Danza – Deals with bigotry and situational context of behavior. This is more of a social psych movie.
• The Fisher King (1991) – Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges – Some of the psych topics include stress and trauma, dissociative disorders, suicide, survivor guilt, mindfulness. Another favorite of mine.
• Lars and the Real Girl (2007) – Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider – A young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet. Topics include acceptance, community and family support, and so on.
• Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins – So much psych related stuff in this one. Might be a little graphic though not as shocking as it seemed over 20 years ago.
• Rain Man (1988) – Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise – A brother learns to appreciate and care for his autistic brother. The material is a little dated but still worth watching.
• Black Swan (2010) – Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Barbara Hershey – Another one full of psychological material. Anorexia, coping with stress, infatuation, hallucinations.
• Fight Club (1999) – Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter – Cults, antisocial behavior, organizational psychology, risky behavior, and hallucinations, and stuff that would spoil the movie if I say any more. There is a lot of material here.
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Jim Carrey, Kite Winslet – What if we could erase sad memories? Addresses acceptance over avoidance concerning the full range of human emotions and experiences. Also philosophical and ethical topics such as the appropriate use of psychopharmaceuticals and the human experience are touched on.
• Good Will Hunting (1997) – Robin Williams (he shows up in a lot of psych movies), Matt Damon, Ben Affleck – Not one of my favorites because of the way the therapist is portrayed. To be fair the therapist is a professor and not a practicing psychotherapist, and he does achieve results. Actually, as long as the therapist in the story isn’t eventually sleeping with their client I should be ecstatic.
• As Good As It Gets (1997) – Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear – A wide range of psychology material is in this movie.
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) – Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller – Developmental psych, PTSD, social anxiety, bipolar.
• The King’s Speech (2010) – Collin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter – A lot of material here as well. Social anxiety disorder, finding therapeutic techniques that work, PTSD.
• The Notebook (2004) – Gina Davis, James Garner, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams – A couple coping with Alzheimer’s. Warning: Keep a case of tissues ready!
• I Am Sam (2001) – Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning – Neurodevelopmental disorders, coping with unusual family dynamics. Quite a lot of ground is covered here such as caregiving, love, personal dignity, and self-worth.
• Silver Linings Playbook (2012) – Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro – Compulsive behavior, impulse control, bipolar disorder, grief, and intermittent explosive disorder. One important aspect is the focus on slow but consistent improvement and personal commitments.
• Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law – Antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder. May not be the best example but it seems to come up a lot when people are asked to list some of their favorite psych movies.
• Shine (1996) – Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Justin Braine – Based on the true story of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a mental breakdown while studying music at the Royal College of Music in London and spent years in institutions.
• The Soloist (2009) – Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. – A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper. Schizophrenia, social psychology and even a great example of synesthesia.
• Kinsey (2004) – Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O’Donnell, Tim Curry, John Lithgow, Timothy Hutton, Peter Sarsgaard – A movie about Alfred Kinsey and his work concerning sexual behavior.
• Dangerous Method (2011) – Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen – Very loosely based on the relationship of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung and Jung’s student Sabina Spielrein (though her character in the movie doesn’t do her any justice). David Cronenberg bent (and often broke) the truth to tell the story in this film, but it was still very interesting.
• Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) – After escaping from a violent cult in rural New York, Martha tries to reconnect with her estranged sister, Lucy, and Lucy’s well-to-do husband, Ted. But the brainwashing Martha endured continues to prevent her from forming an identity of her own. A portrayal of what it may be like to experience dissociation and PTSD
• Donnie Darko (2001) – There are a number of interpretations for this one with several psychological and metaphysical themes.
• Gran Torino (2008) – One of my professors wrote a review of this one for PsycCRITIQUES which is an APA database of reviews. She even spotted parallels with the movie Up which I had completely missed.
• Iris (2001) – An accurate portrayal of coping with Alzheimer’s Disease. This one has been a tough one to get via Netflix so I can’t say much about it yet.
• Melancholia (2011) – This one starts out very slowly. It is important to take the movie on its terms, not your own. The first half will be too slow unless you accept this. There are so many beautiful moments and scenes in the movie, and it mixes psychology with astronomy (another interest of mine). Pay particular attention to the attitudes and responses by Kirsten Dunst’s character. Many of her responses would seem out of place for most people, but not off the mark for people with depression.
• To be continued….