Mental Health Awareness Month | Biopics

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that one in every eight people in the world lives with a mental health disorder. Various forms of anxiety and depression are the most common afflictions, followed by bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and schizophrenia. Despite these conditions being so prevalent in society, many people fear the stigma associated with mental health disorders and try to ignore or hide their conditions rather than seek treatment. Conditions also go untreated due to medical costs and in some cases job disqualifications.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to acknowledge these conditions that affect so many people around the globe. In recognition of this month, we have compiled a list of films about real people who dealt with mental health conditions, many of whom left an indelible mark on society and popular culture. Some were pioneers in helping doctors understand and treat their conditions. Learn about them by watching these critically acclaimed biopics.

"A Beautiful Mind" (2001)

John Nash developed and revolutionized many mathematical concepts, particularly those related to game theory, differential geometry, and partial differential equations. In his lifetime, he garnered many major industry honors, including a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, the Abel Prize, and the American Mathematical Society's Steele Prize for Seminal Contribution to Research. Many concepts that he conceived still bear his name, including the Nash bargaining solution, Nash equilibrium, and Nash embedding theorems.

Nash also spent many years undergoing treatment for schizophrenia at psychiatric hospitals. In Ron Howard's Oscar-winning film "A Beautiful Mind" Russell Crowe portrays Nash's struggles with the disorder, which caused delusions and hallucinations.

"Antwone Fisher" (2002)

In 1959, two months after his father's murder, Antwone Fisher was born in prison to a teenage mother. Fisher spent most of his childhood in foster care, during which he was abused physically and emotionally. Tired of living on the streets, he joined the U.S. Navy to try to straighten his life out. This proved difficult, as his traumatic childhood left him with symptoms of PTSD, which he expressed through violent outbursts. With the help of a psychiatrist, he worked through his emotional traumas and found steady employment, started a family, and wrote the best-selling memoir "Finding Fish," which he adapted into the acclaimed film that shares his name.

"Antwone Fisher" marked Denzel Washington's directorial debut and Derek Luke's acting debut in the title role. Washington also co-stars as the psychiatrist who helps Fisher turn his life around.

"The Hours" (2001)

Early 20th-century author Virginia Woolf is one of the most influential modernist writers of all time. She is a key figure in popularizing the use of stream of consciousness as a literary device, a prime example being her 1925 novel "Mrs. Dalloway." She also endured long bouts of depression, which led to her taking her own life in 1941.

"Mrs. Dalloway" inspired the 1998 tribute novel "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham. In the film adaptation, Nicole Kidman plays Woolf in an Oscar-winning performance while Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep play fictional women living 50 years apart but each deeply affected by "Mrs. Dalloway." Each woman is in a situation that corresponds with a character in the original novel, essentially retelling the story in a modern setting.

The film depicts the real-life struggles of Woolf as she wrote "Mrs. Dalloway," but it also uses fiction to mirror the reality of everyday men and women suffering from depression, with Moore personifying the deeply unhappy post-World War II housewife.

"Lust for Life" (1956) and "Loving Vincent" (2017)

In 1889, Vincent van Gogh famously painted "The Starry Night" from the window of his room in an asylum in southern France. His year-long stay in this asylum followed a mental breakdown during which he cut off part of his left ear. Today, he is regarded as one of the most influential post-impressionists in history, and he produced some of his most memorable works during his time in the asylum.

Doctors in the late 19th century were unable to determine the cause of his depressive episodes, harmful impulsivities, and hallucinations. Many historians now believe that he suffered from bipolar disorder, which is characterized by manic and depressive episodes.

In "Lust for Life" directed by Vincente Minnelli, Kirk Douglas portrays the troubled artist as he discovers his love of painting and befriends fellow painter Paul Gauguin (Anthony Quinn, in an Oscar-winning performance). The film also delves into the depths of his madness and genius that ended with his presumed suicide in 1890.

The animated feature film "Loving Vincent" details the artist's struggles while also serving as a tribute to his works. Written and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, "Loving Vincent" is the first feature film to be fully painted. Containing 65,000 frames comprising oil paintings on canvas, the film took more than a decade to make and involved hundreds of artists.

"The Aviator" (2004)

Howard Hughes was a pioneer in multiple industries – aviation, aerospace, film, business, and more. Tragically, his myriad accomplishments are often overshadowed by his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

In Martin Scorsese's epic biopic "The Aviator," Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Hughes from his early days as a Hollywood film producer and pilot through his later ordeals and reclusive periods. The film carefully balances his remarkable achievements with his personal struggles to tell the complex story of the early 20th-century business magnate and aerospace engineer.

"A Dangerous Method" (2011)

Sabina Spielrein might not be as well-known as her contemporaries Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, but her work in psychoanalysis was groundbreaking, and her story was inspiring. She was one of the first female psychoanalysts, but her earliest contributions to the field were not as a physician – they were as a patient.

As a child, she suffered physical abuse at the hands of her parents. She later excelled in school but was emotionally troubled as a result of the abuse. At the age of 18, she suffered a mental breakdown and spent time in sanitariums across Switzerland. In one of those facilities she met Jung. Following her recovery from what was diagnosed as hysteria, she attended medical school and assisted Jung in his research. The Russian-born doctor would go on to publish dozens of academic papers in three different languages, including some of the earliest articles on child psychology.

Keira Knightley plays Spielrein in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method," a film that explores the relationships between Jung (Michael Fassbender), Freud (Viggo Mortensen), and Spielrein.

If you are someone you know is suffering from a mental health issue contact the NAMI hotline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text “HelpLine” to 62640 or email them at helpline@nami.org. You can also contact the suicide and crisis lifeline at hotline by dialing 988.