Tag: Mental Health in Film

Mental Health, Personal Essays

Time to Be Honest: Depression, Film And Me

“So, for how long have you been depressed for?” This was the question once posed to me by a counsellor during our first counselling session. “I dunno.” I shrugged in response. “Ever since I was a kid, I think.” It sounds like an exaggeration but to some extent, it’s true. In my life there have been two consistencies: depression and film. Both elements are so entwined in my life that it’s easier for me to recall the events of a film rather than the events of my life. Continue reading Time to Be Honest: Depression, Film And Me

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Female Filmmaker, Personal Essays, Women in Film

Why “She Dies Tomorrow” is the ‘Perfect’ Representation of 2020 as a Year

“She Dies Tomorrow” is a horror film like nothing else you’ll see this year. With no word of a lie, you will either fall into two camps after watching this film, meaning you’ll either love it or you will hate it. It’s that type of film which will either bore you to tears (tears of frustration or rage) or it’ll leave you dizzy and intoxicated by its surreal, haunting beauty. Looking online at the audience scores and reviews, “She Dies Tomorrow” seems to have frustrated many regular viewers (basically anyone who isn’t a film critic), and this is understandable. The film marketed as a straightforward ‘ordinary’ horror flick, but there’s nothing straightforward nor ordinary about “She Dies Tomorrow”. If anything, the film and its reaction sums up the bizarre and surreal world we find ourselves in. You either belong to one side of the spectrum, there is no middle ground. You’re either on the side of the film critic or you’re against them. Continue reading Why “She Dies Tomorrow” is the ‘Perfect’ Representation of 2020 as a Year

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Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews

Retrospective Review: Possessed

“Possessed” sees Crawford’s character reduced to an empty shell, and completely retreats into her neuroticism. Although dated with its approach and understanding of mental illness, “Possessed” remains somewhat relevant in the ills of the patriarchy and the appalling treatment/misunderstanding of individuals suffering from a psychotic break (you only have to look at the treatment of Elisabeth Moss’ character in this year’s “The Invisible Man” to see how little society has come since 1947). Continue reading Retrospective Review: Possessed

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Mental Health, Retrospect Reviews

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Order and Chaos in Society

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has been on my list for a while; it is one of only three films to have won the Big Five at the Oscars. For you non-Oscar fanatics out there, the Big Five is the coined term for a film that has won all of the five major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (original or adapted). “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is based on Ken Kesey’s famous novel from 1962 of the same name, of which I purchased at a used bookstore for $2 and still have yet to read. I’ll get around to that one day, too. All of this being said, there were super high expectations going into this first viewing. Continue reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Order and Chaos in Society

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Female Characters, Personal Essays, World Cinema

The Exploitation of Mental Illness in Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction

If the purpose of film, like literature and other narrative-driven art forms, is, in part, to examine and portray under-explored or overlooked aspects of the human condition, then it is the perfect medium with which to explore mental illness and the impact it has on those effected by it. If, however, the purpose of film is simply to entertain and titillate, it is the least appropriate medium to use as an exposé on mental health. Some will argue that genre film, like genre fiction, is a “lower” form of the art and not meant to achieve much more than excitement or amusement. Continue reading The Exploitation of Mental Illness in Adrian Lyne’s Fatal Attraction

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