9 must-watch movies that underline the complexities of mental health

While mental health remains a stigma, the portrayal of mental health in mainstream cinema is helping to make a breakthrough. These mental health movies cover various aspects of the emotional turmoil of a human being affected by mental illness.

While the concept of movies highlighting mental health isn’t new, the variety of topics covered across genres is a refreshing change. These writers and filmmakers investigate the complex psyche of a character and create true masterpieces that deal with real and complicated experiences. Today, we take a look at some of the best movies that deal with mental health issues in the most realistic way possible.

The best movies about mental health

Dear Zindagi

A list of mental health movies is incomplete without mentioning this understated Bollywood gem. Anxiety, insomnia, unresolved issues with the family, the normalization of therapy, this film deals with many sensitive issues. Handled with finesse and much sophistication, at no time does this film feel forced or out of place. Alia Bhatt plays Kiara, a young woman who is unaware of her own problems unless she accidentally meets a therapist and starts seeking therapy. The film brilliantly portrays how that changes her entire perspective on life.

Advantages of being an outcast

Living with PTSD is something low that only a survivor can understand. But this mental health movie does a brilliant job of showing what living with PTSD can be like. The film revolves around Charlie, an introverted teenager who is soon to graduate and has no friends. His perspective on life changes when two older people befriend him and guide him through musicals and friendship, and he experiences what it’s like to truly be alive. Things take a turn when his PTSD from his childhood trauma resurfaces in adulthood. The movie portrays the hope of recovering from the trauma.

girl, interrupted

The film is based on a young woman’s firsthand account memoir of an American mental hospital in the 1960s. For people trying to understand how different mental illnesses can affect different people, this is a good watch. This mental health film tells the story of 18-year-old Susanna, who is admitted to a women’s psychiatric hospital after attempting suicide. This is where she meets different women with different mental health issues. During her stay there, she learns to deal with her personality disorder diagnosis through friendship, heartbreak, and acceptance.

Karthik calling Karthik

Dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia are not topics that are covered very often in Bollywood, but when they are, we get masterpieces like this movie. Farhan Akhtar’s character, Karthik, is an introverted and unconfident corporate man who is unaware of his mental health issues. After blaming himself for the death of his brother for years, he lives unconnected until one day he receives a mysterious phone call that changes his life. This mental health movie will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Melancholia

Many movies have successfully portrayed the hollow inner well that is depression, but Lars von Trier’s sci-fi drama about two sisters is a spectacular take on this mental illness. While one of the sisters is getting ready to get married, a rogue planet called ‘Melancholia’ is about to collide with Earth, leading to imminent death. If you’ve seen the movie, you know how powerful the final shot is; it is beautiful, impressive and terrifying. If you haven’t, add it to your watch list for the weekend.

An amazing mind

Based on the true story of John Forbes Nash Jr., a mathematician who changed the world and won a Nobel Prize in Economics, this mental health film shows how a genius brain doesn’t guarantee an easy life. Having contributed enormously to the world of game theory and differential equations, Nash was caught up in the convolutions of his brilliant mind. It was speculated that he had Asperger’s syndrome, Nash displayed obsessive habits and hallucinations. Then he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, for which he had to undergo extreme treatments that ended up hindering his cognitive abilities.

the breakfast club

A timeless classic, this mental health movie is an unfiltered depiction of the life of an average teenager, this movie focuses on the fact that they too have intense feelings and emotions, which leads them to behave in a certain way. The film centers on five teenagers who must spend a Saturday in detention for some past rapes, each belonging to a different lifestyle: a popular girl, a nerd, a jock, an outcast and a monster, all of whom have something in common. common. Funny yet intense, these teens have conversations about how abusive their home lives are. The film focuses on how everyone, regardless of age, should seek therapy when needed.

jester

DC’s infamous supervillain The Joker is brought to life by Joaquin Phoenix in this standalone film, divorced from its franchise. A gritty urban tale of neglected mental illness, this film follows the life of Arthur Fleck, a middle-aged man still living with his demanding mother and earning peanuts as a party clown. As everyone laughs at him and ignores him, his depression turns into something dark and morbid, leading to riots in the streets. “The worst part of having a mental illness is that people expect you to behave as if you don’t have it” is a line from the film that perfectly sums up the mood and tone of what lies ahead.