Poll: Case Study for a Psychologist
You're a psychology student and have to write a case study. Which of these mentally afflicted characters (all Oscar nominated or winning performances) would you choose as subject for your paper? May contain SPOILERS as the mental state of some of the characters is only revealed in the course of the film, or at the end. Discuss here.
Vote:
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The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
DR. HANNIBAL LECTER (Anthony Hopkins) -
Black Swan (2010)
NINA SAYERS - the balleriana who is losing her mind (Natalie Portman) -
Citizen Kane (1941)
The egomaniacal CHARLES FOSTER KANE (Orson Welles) -
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
The mad diva NORMA DESMOND (Gloria Swanson) -
Harvey (1950)
ELWOOD P. DOWD, who converses with an invisible 6 foot rabbit (James Stewart) -
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
The disturbed BLANCHE (Vivien Leigh) -
Lust for Life (1956)
The tortured artistic genius VINCENT VAN GOGH with his obsession with painting, combined with mental illness (Kirk Douglas) -
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The deluded obsessive COLONEL NICHOLSON (Alec Guinness) -
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
EVE WHITE / EVE BLACK / JANE - the woman suffering from multiple personality disorder (Joanne Woodward) -
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
The domineering and sadistic BABY JANE HUDSON (Bette Davis) -
The Ruling Class (1972)
The paranoid schizophrenic JACK ARNOLD ALEXANDER TANCRED GURNEY, 14TH EARL OF GURNEY - who thinks he is God, and when cured of that delusion turns into Jack the Ripper (Peter O'Toole) -
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
The rebellious patient in a mental institution R.P. McMURPHY (Jack Nicholson) -
Taxi Driver (1976)
The mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran TRAVIS BICKLE (Robert De Niro) -
Annie Hall (1977)
The neurotic ALVY SINGER (Woody Allen) -
The Aviator (2004)
The somewhat obsessive compulsive HOWARD HUGHES (Leonardo DiCaprio) -
Equus (1977)
ALAN STRANG - the stable boy obsessed with horses in an unhealthy way (Peter Firth) -
Under the Volcano (1984)
The alcoholic and self destructive GEOFFREY FIRMIN (Albert Finney) -
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
PAT SOLITANO - a man recently released from a mental institution (Bradley Cooper) -
Rain Man (1988)
The autistic RAYMOND BABBITT (Dustin Hoffman) -
The Fisher King (1991)
The deranged PARRY (Robin Williams) -
Sling Blade (1996)
KARL CHILDERS - the killer with a developmental disability and a traumatic childhood, who is released after spending many years in a mental institution (Billy Bob Thornton) -
Charly (1968)
CHARLY GORDON (Cliff Robertson), the man with a cognitive disability struggling to survive in the modern world, who through a medical experiment becomes more logically advanced, until he is a pure genius. Emotional and intra-personal consequences are involved when Charly learns the truth of the experiment. -
Rebecca (1940)
The neurotic second MRS. DE WINTER (Joan Fontaine) -
Misery (1990)
The obsessive ANNIE WILKES (Kathy Bates) -
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
The mentally challenged ARNIE GRAPE (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is, among other things, afraid of getting into water after being left in the bath overnight on one occasion -
Shine (1996)
DAVID HELFGOTT - the pianist who is dealing with the consequences of a mental breakdown (Geoffrey Rush) -
As Good as It Gets (1997)
The obsessive compulsive MELVIN UDALL (Jack Nicholson) -
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
The asocial JOHNNIE NASH (Russell Crowe) -
The Hours (2002)
The mentally unstable VIRGINIA WOOLF (Nicole Kidman) -
The Master (2012)
FREDDIE QUELL - the alcoholic World War II veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and struggling to adjust to a post-war society (Joaquin Phoenix) -
Away from Her (2006)
FIONA ANDERSON (Julie Christie) - the Alzheimer patient who, when institutionalized, transfers her affection away from her husband of over 40 years to a co-patient of hers. -
A Single Man (2009)
The suicidal GEORGE (Colin Firth) -
August: Osage County (2013)
VIOLET WESTON - a mean, dysfunctional mother, addicted to perscription drugs (Meryl Streep) -
The Prince of Tides (1991)
TOM WINGO - the troubled man with a traumatic childhood in a dysfunctional family (Nick Nolte) -
Blue Jasmine (2013)
JASMINE - a troubled woman, who lives in deep denial and talks to herself in public places (Cate Blanchett)