Movies with G, PG, or PG-13 Rating
Agnes of God
Genre: Drama Year: 1985 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Jane Fonda, Meg Tilly, Anne Bancroft
Topics: Treatment, Psychosis, Forensic
Meg Tilly as a novice nun who became pregnant and the baby is found strangled in the cloistered
convent. Jane Fonda as the psychiatrist appointed to determine if Tilly is mentally competent to
stand trial.[Suggested by Nell Stewart]
Anywhere But Here
Genre: Drama Year: 1999 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Susan Sarandon, Natalie Portman, Hart Bochner
Topics: Personality Disorder
I saw this film on an airplane - not outstanding, but I didn't take off my headphones! Susan
Sarandon portrays a mother "who knows best" with a teenage daughter "who knows better" as
they move from a small town to Beverly Hills. The mother clearly has a mixed personality picture
- histrionic, dependent, borderline?
As Good As It Gets Favorite
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1997 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear, Helen Hunt
Topics: OCD, Personality Disorder
Academy Award winner for Best Actor and Best Actress. Jack Nicholson with Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder, as well as plenty of Axis II. Really great movie.
Awakenings Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 1990 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Robin Williams, Robert DeNiro, Julie Kavner
Topics: Neuropsychology, Treatment
Wonderful movie. Based on Oliver Sacks' clinical cases. L-dopa's effects on encephalitis lethargica.
Interesting glimpse inside a mental hospital in the 1960s. Why do you think paranoia/psychosis
developed after prolonged L-dopa treatment? Neuronal supersensitivity?
Beautiful Mind, A Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 2001 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly
Topics: Schizophrenia
Academy Award winner for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress. Russell Crowe portrays
Nash, a brilliant mathematician. There is a major plot twist - stop reading here if you don't want it
spoiled…We learn that we are misled - situations and characters turn out to be portrayals of Nash's
delusional thinking and hallucinations. We see him spiral downward in the throws of his psychotic
thinking or the side effects of his medications. What do you think about the suggestion that he was
able to self-challenge the reality of the hallucinations, as at the end of the movie? What do you
think this movie did for public perception of schizophrenia? If you really want to know his story,
read the book - not an easy read, mind you, but with plenty more information missing from the
Hollywood version…
Being There
Genre: Comedy Year: 1979 Rating: PG
Actors: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas
Topics: Personality Disorder
Academy Award winner for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Very funny and interesting film
about a gardener (Peter Sellers) whose only exposure to the "real world" outside the wall around
the grounds he keeps comes from television. What does it say about our society? Any obvious
diagnosis of the gardener (or us?!)?
Benny & Joon Favorite
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1993 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn
Topics: Schizophrenia, Personality Disorder
Early movie with Johnny Depp who develops a relationship with young woman who is
schizophrenic. Diagnostic considerations for Depp's character? Good portrayal of stresses on
family, as Joon's brother devotes himself to her care. Cute movie.
Canvas Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 2006 Rating: Pg-13
Actors: Joe Pantoliano
Topics: Psychosis, Family Dysfunction, Treatment
Seen through the eyes of a young boy, this film demonstrates the impact of schizophrenia on the
family. As such, I imagine it would be useful in working with families dealing with mental illness in
a loved one. Great music and photography.
Don Juan DeMarco
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1995 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway
Topics: Delusional Disorder, Family Dysfunction
Johnny Depp (one of my favorites) believes that he is the great lover, Don Juan. He is treated by
therapist, Marlon Brando, who, as often happens in the movies, is really treated by his patient.
Cute flick.
Harold and Maude
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1971 Rating: PG
Actors: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles
Topics: Depression, Nihilism, Suicide
A rich, 20-year-old man obsessed with death meets an elderly woman at a funeral and develops
his first meaningful relationship. Involves faked suicides, and a real one, but are the characters
actually depressed? [Suggested by Carey Corbett, University of South Florida]
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (A la folie…pas du tout) Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 2002 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Audrey Tautou, Samuel Le Bihan
Topics: Psychosis, Family Dysfunction
In French with English subtitles. A young art student is having an affair with a married cardiologist
whose wife is pregnant. She becomes suicidal when it is apparent that he is not going to leave
the wife. Seems like a classic tale, until the second half of the movie, when the film rewinds and
we see all the same events from the doctor's perspective.. This is the case of a delusional
disorder subtype. See my article on the topic for more information. Very entertaining.
I Am Sam
Genre: Drama Year: 2001 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning
Topics: Mental Retardation, Forensic, Family Dysfunction
Sean Penn portrays a man with mental retardation fighting for custody of his 7-year-old child.
Sam's group of friends are entertaining - two are truly developmentally disabled - his close
neighbor is agoraphobic. His lawyer is the stereotypical overworked yuppie professional woman,
estranged from her family. The film is a classic tearjerker. Despite significant research for the
film (watch the supplemental documentary), how realistic were the events? Did he take her to a
pediatrician? Did the pediatrician have any concerns about his care? Was that a realistic
portrayal of cross-examination of an expert witness? Could Sam really have afforded the
apartment at the end in Los Angeles, making somewhere around $8/hour? What really was in the
best interest of the child? Was the opposing attorney all that wrong? Many things to consider.
[Suggested by Kathleen Krach]
I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1992 Rating: PG
Actors: Jason Alexander, Nia Peeples, Lainie Kazan
Topics: Eating Disorder, Ethics
Overweight shoe store salesman is befriended by psychology student, who proceeds to help him
lose weight, and use him, without his knowledge, as a case study for her thesis.
I Never Sang for my Father
Genre: Drama Year: 1970 Rating: PG
Actors: Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney
Topics: Bereavement, Adjustment Disorder, Family Dysfunction
Depressing film about a man's relationship with his elderly father and the stresses involved in
caring for him. Adjustment Disorder, with Mixed Emotional Features, Chronic? [Suggested by
Charleen Alderfer, College of New Jersey, NJ]
Matchstick Men Favorite
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 2003 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman
Topics: OCD, Treatment, Personality Disorder
Nicholas Cage as the con man with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Very entertaining film.
Consider the accuracy of portrayal (was it "real" OCD or a conversion disorder, for example).
What about the ethics of the treatment he experienced?
Mumford
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1999 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Loren Dean, Hope Davis, Jason Lee
Topics: Treatment, Ethics,
This is a generally entertaining, albeit predictable, feel-good movie. As a psychologist, however, I
found myself disliking the main character. How does the field of psychology come across in this
film? Does training do anything? Is the ethics code reasonable? Can one simply stop seeing a
client in order to have a romantic relationship with him/her? Much to chew on from an ethics
perspective here. Maybe the field is overlooking the curative effect of psychologist as
matchmaker (I hope you can sense my sarcarsm :).
On Golden Pond Favorite
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1981 Rating: PG
Actors: Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda
Topics: Dementia, Family Dysfunction
Academy Award winner for Best Actor and Best Actress. Beautiful story of enduring love in an
elderly couple, the husband's suffering from the early stages of dementia, and its effect on family
members. Acting doesn't get much better than this.
Prime
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 2005 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Uma Thurmann, Meryl Streep, Bryan Greenberg
Topics: Treatment, Family Dysfunction
OK, I was "primed" to dislike this movie, based on the trailers. I was pleasantly surprised, but not
totally won over. The situation where a client becomes involved with a close family member is a
good one and should lead to discussions of dual relationships. What about the direction given by
the therapist's therapist?
Quiet Room, The
Genre: Drama Year: 1996 Rating: PG
Actors: Celine O'Leary, Paul Blackwell, Chloe Ferguson
Topics: Family Dysfunction, Childhood Disorder
Australian film about a troubled 7-year-old girl who becomes mute in reaction to her divorcing
parents' fighting. The film is from inside the girl's mind, as we hear her thoughts and comments on
what is happening around her.
Regarding Henry
Genre: Drama Year: 1991 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Harrison Ford, Annette Benning, Michael Haley
Topics: Neuropsychology, Family Dysfunction, Amnesia
Harrison Ford portrays a survivor of a brain injury. Accurate? I wonder how real survivors feel
about this portrayal. Consider his personality pre and post the brain injury.
Ruling Class, The
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1972/2 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Peter O'Toole
Topics: Psychosis, Treatment, Family Dysfunction
This British black comedy has a cult following and was rereleased to include previously removed
footage, which is unfortunate, as I found it too long. The first half or so I enjoyed, but found the
second half disturbing, as it unfortunately followed the oh-so-common path of schizophrenic as
dangerous. Still worth watching, as Peter O'Toole appears believing he is God and the treatment
facility at first seems so benevolent. But, alas, the treating psychiatrist loses his ethical scruples,
not to mention his sanity. The portrayal of schizophrenic dialogue is quite good, as well as
O'Toole's initial efforts to suppress his psychosis. Doesn't rise to the level of a "favorite," but
worth watching.
Shine Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 1996 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Geoffrey Rush, Justin Braine, Sonja Todd
Topics: Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective, Family Dysfunction
Academy Award winner for Best Actor. Story of gifted Australian pianist, David Helfgott, son of
Holocaust survivors. You can visit the Helfgotts' personal website to learn more about this
interesting man and his wife. The father character also allows for diagnostic considerations.
Helfgott appears to have schizoaffective disorder-manic. The music is excellent in this film.
Sixth Sense, The Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 1999 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Topics: Treatment, Childhood Disorder, Munchausen's by Proxy
Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose 6-year-old patient claims to see the spirits of dead
people around him. Good film; nice plot twist. Also interesting brief portrayal of Munchausen's by
Proxy. [Suggested by Christina Martini]
Unstrung Heroes
Genre: Drama Year: 1995 Rating: PG
Actors: Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, Michael Richards
Topics: Family Dysfunction, Personality Disorder, OCD
Andie MacDowell portrays a dying woman with a young son, married to an eccentric inventor. The
two oddball uncles (one's paranoid, one's a hoarder) come through for the boy with some
remarkable insights and wisdom.
Vertigo Favorite
Genre: Drama Year: 1958 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Jimmy Stewart
Topics: Anxiety, Depression, Personality
This movie tops many "all time favorites" lists. The story of a police detective, Scottie (also called
Johnny), who suffers a trauma, developing acrophobia and vertigo, causing him to retire from the
force. He is hired by an old college acquaintance to tail his wife, Madeleine, who seems to have
dissociative identity disorder. Scotty falls in love with her, but can't prevent her from committing
suicide. Stop reading here if you don't want the plot spoiled…Scotty is traumatized, becomes
catatonic. Later encounters young woman on the street who looks like Madeleine. Turns out that
she truly was the Madeleine that Scottie had followed, but she was part of the murder plot of the
real Madeleine, however she really did fall in love with Scottie. Over time, they date, he remakes
her into Madeleine (hair color, clothing, etc.). I'll save the rest for you to see. Did you see Scottie
as a sympathetic character? How did you feel about him at the end? Interesting that Madeleine
was portrayed as being dissociative and Scottie seems to show many signs of dissociative
features, as well, including his two first names…hmmm! A film to be watched more than once.
Enjoy!
Vincent and Theo
Genre: Drama Year: 1990 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Tim Roth, Paul Rhys, Adrian Brine
Topics: Depression, Family Dysfunction
Biography of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother who supported him. Clearly Vincent experienced
depression, and some believe that the impetus to cut off his ear came from Meniere's Disease,
which can cause unbearable ringing in the ear. [Suggested by Celeste Wallin, NY]
What About Bob Favorite
Genre: Comedy Year: 1991 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Richard Dreyfuss, Bill Murray, Julie Hagerty
Topics: Treatment, Personality Disorder, Family Dysfunction
Cute movie with Richard Dreyfuss as the competent (or burned out?) psychotherapist and Bill
Murray as the patient (who seems to have more insight...). Note the difference in perception of
Bob between the therapist and his family. Has its flaws, but is a fun film.
What Dreams May Come
Genre: Drama Year: 1998 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Annabella Sciorra
Topics: Depression
First the children are killed, then the husband, resulting in significant depression and despair. The
story, though, is primarily of the husband's experiencing heaven, continued contact with the "real
world," and descent into hell. Visual imagery is remarkable (won Academy Award for Special
Effects).
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Genre: Drama/Comedy Year: 1993 Rating: PG-13
Actors: Johnny Depp, Leonardo diCaprio, Juliette Lewis
Topics: Family Dysfunction, Childhood Disorder, Depression
Slice of life film, with Johnny Depp as the young adult caring for his family - a depressed, morbidly
obese mother, a brother with a developmental disorder, and two sisters. Somehow, he manages
it all. Good movie.