10 films about psychologists and psychotherapy that will surprise you

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The heroes of the collection practice innovative methods and help people find ways out of the most hopeless situations.

1. Freud: Secret Passion

• USA, 1962.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 140 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

Young physician Sigmund Freud treats patients with hypnosis, although his older colleagues do not approve of this method. The doctor still does not give up his beliefs and gradually realizes the true, as he believes, the nature of human neuroses. And his discovery will soon turn the whole world upside down.

The famous film by John Huston, director of The Maltese Falcon, does not claim biographical accuracy, and in this regard, the tape should not be judged harshly. The script for it was written by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who dreams of seeing Marilyn Monroe in the role of Freud's beloved patient. The actress refused to act, and Sartre's script was eventually heavily rewritten - it turned out to be too long. After that, the philosopher asked to remove his name from the credits.

2. Ordinary people

• USA, 1980.
• Drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Trouble comes to the family of a wealthy lawyer: because of an absurd accident, the eldest son, Buck, dies. His brother Konrad, in whose eyes a misfortune happened, is the most acute loss of all. The young man even tries to commit suicide. Then the father writes the hero to an appointment with a psychologist, and these sessions help the guy look at the situation from a different angle. After all, all this time, the problem was not at all in Konrad.

Robert Redford's brilliant debut won an Oscar for Best Picture, leaving behind the work of Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski and David Lynch. The director managed to shoot a simple but surprisingly capacious story about family relationships. A strong cast complemented the picture perfectly.

3. Final analysis

• USA, 1992.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 5, 9.

The successful psychiatrist Isaac Barr has an affair with his patient's married sister. When a mistress kills her husband, Barr helps her escape punishment in court. True, then he realizes that he has become part of someone else's cold-blooded plan.

The film, very reminiscent of the concept of "Basic Instinct", was received coldly by critics. Charming Richard Gere really did not play his best role here. But Kim Basinger surprised the transformation of her heroine, and Uma Thurman was good in the form of a mysterious woman with a dark past.

4. Good Will Hunting

• USA, 1997.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

A young man named Will Hunting has all the makings of a brilliant mathematician. Only now he works as a simple cleaner and wastes his talent in drinking and fighting. After another mess, the guy is sent to psychotherapy sessions. Will is skeptical at first, but gradually gets warm feelings towards his mentor.

Good Will Hunting is not an ordinary film for Gus Van Sant, who has made a name for himself in independent cinema. This is the most understandable picture, designed for a wide audience, about how important it is to step over your injuries.

The dignity of the tape is not only in the excellent direction and script, but also in the organic acting duet of Matt Damon and Robin Williams. The latter even received an Oscar for his role. He played a doctor who himself could use help. This example just proves that the artist was best at not comic, but tragic heroes.

5. Analyze it

• USA, Australia, 1999.
• Comedy, crime.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

The leader of the New York mafia, Paul Vitti, notices in himself a tendency to excessive sentimentality, which only interferes with his craft. Undermined mental health forces the hero to turn to the famous psychotherapist Ben Sobel, who immediately realizes that the patient's ailment is rooted in childhood.

Director Harold Ramis (who also directed the iconic Groundhog Day six years earlier) made a very funny and subtle parody of gangster movies. Robert De Niro played the "godfather" of the mafia on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Billy Crystal perfectly fit into the image of an intelligent psychotherapist. In addition, cinema also pokes fun at the American psychoanalysis craze, which at the time of the film's release had exceeded all imaginable boundaries.

6. Sixth sense

• USA, 1999.
• Detective, science fiction, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

A terrible thing happened in the life of child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe. His former patient Vincent Gray entered his house and started shooting, and then committed suicide. A few months after the tragedy, Crowe takes on the case of nine-year-old Cole, who suffers from a similar disorder and claims that he sees dead people. The psychiatrist is making every effort to help the child and at the same time understand what mistakes he made in Vincent's treatment.

M. Night Shyamalan's first major work is often cited as an example of an ideal film with an unexpected plot twist in the finale. The outcome in The Sixth Sense is indeed very difficult to predict. But still, the director skillfully scattered a lot of clues along the way, hinting at what is really happening.

7. Ragin

• Austria, Russia, 2004.
• Drama.
• Duration: 93 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

Russia, early twentieth century. Andrey Efimovich Ragin serves as a doctor in the district hospital. After reading the progressive psychiatrist Gimmelsdorf, the doctor decides to apply his methods to his patients. But Ragin's good intentions do not meet with the approval of colleagues.

An extremely free film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's story "Ward No. 6" by one of the most famous Russian directors - Kirill Serebrennikov. You shouldn't expect correspondence to the literary source here, but nevertheless, this unusual movie can be watched for the sake of a gloomy atmosphere and an ambiguous ending.

8. When Nietzsche cried

• USA, 2007.
• Drama.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Visitor Lou Salome comes to the famous Viennese doctor Josef Breuer. She asks the doctor to help her friend Friedrich Nietzsche, who is suffering from depression and suicidal tendencies. Breuer agrees, not knowing that the future patient will soon drag him into an intellectual duel.

The film is based on the novel of the same name by the famous American psychotherapist Irwin Yalom. The main characters were two famous Viennese psychiatrists - Joseph Breuer and Sigmund Freud, as well as the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Of course, the events of the tape have nothing to do with real life, and if you do not know anything about the works of Freud or Nietzsche, it is also very easy to get confused in the film: there will be jumps in time and hallucinatory insertions.

9. Psychoanalyst

• USA, 2009.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Psychoanalyst Henry Carter is the author of the bestselling book Stop Being Sad. After his wife's funeral, he plunges into severe depression. However, no one canceled the work - the hero is forced to continue to somehow accept his famous patients.

With this film starring Kevin Spacey, fans of the animated series "Dr. Katz" will definitely fall in love. There are also many stellar cameos here. Among them is Robin Williams, whose episodes were short but extremely funny.

10. Dangerous method

• UK, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, 2011.
• Biography, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 99 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Sabine Spielrein suffers from a mental disorder. Young psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung volunteers to help the girl. He manages to heal the patient, but in the process, the doctor and Sabina become so close that they become lovers, despite the fact that Jung has a wife.

Inspired by his success, Jung travels with Sabina to Zurich, where he meets Professor Freud and his progressive methods. Friendship develops between psychiatrists, which soon turns into rivalry.

For those who know David Cronenberg primarily as the creator of Fly and Justified Tough, Dangerous Method is sure to surprise. It's hard to believe that it was filmed by a director who became famous for thrillers and horror.

Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender are so transformed to play Freud and Jung that the actors are not easy to recognize in their makeup. No less surprised was Keira Knightley, who at first was considered by many to be too pretty for the role of Sabina Spielrein. Her performance in Dangerous Method is the best proof that the actress is not afraid to look ambiguous or unattractive on the screen.