7 Psychological Dramas From The Cinema
Psychological dramas challenge you and make you think about important problems again. They can even trigger some serious existential reflections in the days after you look at them and change your mood. A good drama has the ability to upset you and make you feel emotional.
Good psychological dramas are real Socratic jewels. They make the audience think about some of life’s most important questions. In today’s article we will share some good psychological dramas from different genres.
Psychological dramas that make you ask questions about society
In this category we have two films that brilliantly depict what society and social expectations can do for citizens.
Joker, from Todd Phillips
This film was very popular in 2019 and got a glimpse of the strange world we wanted to live in just a few months later. This is a world where inequality, an inadequate public health system and a lack of mental health care put citizens on the brink of collapse.
It’s so easy to relate to and identify with Arthur Fleck, the main character, that it’s a little disturbing. In his madness you are reminded of so much of what you see in this capitalist society that shines on the weak. Here you are no one unless you have material goods.
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That’s why Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, is a first-class psychological drama. It reveals your awareness of whether the world begins with general terms and narrowing to the personal.
A year after the premiere, there is a strange echo of the film in the real world. Today, it almost feels like we live in the real Gotham, full of chaos and sadness.
The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir
The Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma left everyone in despair and confused, primarily because it puts you at the center of your goal. It makes you believe that you are just a product of technology that uses psychology to control you and make you unhappy.
There’s a reason why it’s so important to remember how people reacted to The Truman Show when it premiered in theaters. These days, that kind of science fiction seems almost charming by comparison.
The film challenges ideas about the limits of privacy. It asks if social media only makes your life a spectacle for the joy of others. Most people watching do not know who you really are.
Psychological dramas: Moral dilemmas
Some films take a closer look at the moral dilemmas that affect us all. Their stories fill you with indignation and make you sad.
Vera Drake’s Secret, directed by Mike Leigh
A fantastic performance by Imelda Staunton made her win an Oscar for Best Actress. This film also won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Vera Drake is a middle-aged woman who is devoted to her family and her sick mother. Everyone around her loves her because she is noble, kind and committed to helping others. Vera works with house cleaning. Although she is a member of the underclass, she is a lively and happy woman. Her family is welded together and her marriage is blessed with pure, solid love.
What her family does not know (spoiler alarm: The viewer does not know either) is that Vera also does secret abortions for free. She believes that it is her duty to help women correct these small “menstrual delays”. Vera does not see it as an abortion, or as someone who performs it.
In the film, we see Vera helping women of all shapes, sizes and financial circumstances. They go to her because she treats them well and she is effective. Unfortunately, an incident brings everything to light, and you see the hypocrisy in a society that condemns her instead of thanking her for what she does and how she does it.
The Sea Inside, directed by Alejandro Amenabar
This Spanish film classic is based on a true story that touched a nation. Javier Bardem plays Ramon Sampedro, a man who became quadriplegic after a diving accident.
Sampedro no longer wanted to live in his condition, so he asks his neighbor Rosa (Lola Dueñas) for help. He wants her to get a lawyer to fight for her right to active euthanasia. The film, beautifully played and produced, touches on countless moral issues such as the rights of terminally ill people, and the individual freedoms of all people. Active euthanasia is undoubtedly an ethical dilemma depending on how and under what conditions it is done.
Psychological dramas: Movies about abuse
The psychological dramas that have the most emotional impact are about abuse and mistreatment. They show the most frightening side of people, the side we will never see ourselves in.
Sleepers, directed by Barry Levinson
Sleepers is part of a group of films from the 90’s that are not entirely masterpieces, but which certainly have an impact. Despite the tough subject matter, the incredible cast and its avoidance of light morbidity make it in a way an “easy” movie to watch.
John, Lorenzo, Michael and Tommy are four friends in a tough neighborhood in New York. Their support system and spiritual guide is parish priest Robert Carrillo (Robert de Niro). Robert is like a sociologist and father of boys who have difficult lives at home.
One afternoon, the boys steal a heavy ice cream cart. Happiness is not on their side that day because it is too heavy for them and it ends up falling down the stairs to the subway, where it seriously injures an old man. In that moment, their lives change.
The four boys end up in a home for boys where they have experiences that no child should ever experience. Years later, a murder and a trial bring the four friends together.
Dancer in the Dark, directed by Lars von Trier
It’s hard to watch this Lars von Trier film without touching a nerve. Von Trier, who is a big fan of psychological dramas himself, tried to surpass the rest with this intensely moving film.
Remember that Björk had never played acting in her life, which made the film a bit of a game of chance since 90 percent of the film depends on her acting skills.
Fortunately, she was able to deliver. Björk proved that she is not only a talented singer, but that she is also a talented actress. Dancer in the Dark is a story of innocence, evil and greed, and the ending does not disappoint.
Existential psychological dramas
Psychological dramas can cover several topics at the same time, but sometimes it is the meaninglessness of life itself that makes the film captivating.
The pianist, directed by Roman Polanski
Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) is a pianist for a Jewish radio station in Poland who looks at how the beginning of World War II affects Warsaw. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard.
From the moment the prisoners are released from the concentration camp, Szpilman hides in various places in Warsaw. During that time we see what absolute destruction does to a human being; deprived of everything that makes him human.
The pianist is a reflection on the human capacity for cruelty when it comes to protecting ourselves. At the same time, it tells the story of a man without hope who finally finds meaning again through a few simple piano tones.
The stories these films tell allow you to see the world in a different way and discover the subtle nuances in a different perspective. After all, movies are not just art or entertainment, they are a way to learn important emotional lessons.
