The Best Movies About Mental Illness

Updated January 5, 2021 21.2k votes 2.1k voters 81.1k views123 items

List RulesFilms about mental illness and people who suffer from it. Vote up the best mental illness films.

This list features the best movies about mental illnesses. The films on this list cover an array of different mental illnesses, such as amnesia, clinical depression, autism, anxiety disorders, and many more. You can also find several good mental illness movies on Netflix. But what are the best movies about mental illness? Which films tackle the issue the best? Vote up the best films below and see where your favorites rank.

The movies on this list cover very important topics in our society, and range from a variety of genres. Some take more of a realistic, dramatic look at what happens when a person suffers from a mental illness and how it affects their loved ones. Others are fictional and put a comedic twist on these very common problems. All tell the story of a character struggling with a mental illness.

This list has the best movies about mental illness including, As Good As it Gets, Saving Private Ryan, Little Miss Sunshine, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, What Dreams May Come, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Vote up your favorites below or add a film about mental illness that isn't already on the list.

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Black Swan
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis
Released: 2010
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito
Released: 1975
Directed by: Miloš Forman
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What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio
Released: 1993
Directed by: Lasse Hallström
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Shutter Island
Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Williams
Released: 2010
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
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Girl, Interrupted
Angelina Jolie, Winona Ryder
Released: 1999
Directed by: James Mangold
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Rain Man
Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman
Released: 1988
Directed by: Barry Levinson
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A Beautiful Mind
Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe
Released: 2001
Directed by: Ron Howard
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The Shining
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall
Released: 1980
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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As Good as It Gets
Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt
Released: 1997
Directed by: James L. Brooks
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I Am Sam
Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning
Released: 2001
Directed by: Jessie Nelson
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Awakenings
Robert De Niro, Robin Williams
Released: 1990
Directed by: Penny Marshall
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Little Miss Sunshine
Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston
Released: 2006
Directed by: Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
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Sybil
Sally Field, Joanne Woodward
Released: 1976
Directed by: Daniel Petrie
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Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster
Released: 1976
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
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American Psycho
Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe
Released: 2000
Directed by: Mary Harron
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A Clockwork Orange
Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke
Released: 1971
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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Donnie Darko
Drew Barrymore, Ashley Tisdale
Released: 2001
Directed by: Richard Kelly
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American Beauty
Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening
Released: 1999
Directed by: Sam Mendes
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The Machinist
Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Released: 2004
Directed by: Brad Anderson
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What About Bob?
Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss
Released: 1991
Directed by: Frank Oz
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Memento
Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
Released: 2000
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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Mystic River
Emmy Rossum, Sean Penn
Released: 2003
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
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Silver Linings Playbook
Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro
Released: 2012
Directed by: David O. Russell
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Cape Fear
Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte
Released: 1991
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
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The Soloist
Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx
Released: 2009
Directed by: Joe Wright
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