Movies about borderline personality disorder - Mental Health Related Films

Human lives and behaviour are far more nuanced and emotive than any psychiatric diagnostic system or symptom checklist can ever portray.

Most people recognise aspects of themselves in at least a few psychiatric diagnostic categories. The difference between normal and disorder is not straight forward and often has more to do with degree rather than kind, i.e. does it cause big problems?

While movies are not perfect depictions of reality, they often present themes in relatable, enriching, usefully challenging, and thought-provoking ways.

We invite you to explore mental health through movies that raise awareness, open dialogue, present complexity, entertain, and/or normalise experiences.

Click to see the Ultimate List of Mental Health Movies index

What is Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric diagnosis (see abridged criteria below) characterised by instability in behaviour, self-image, mood, identity, and interpersonal realtionships.

There's a reason why the disorder is named borderline personality. In history, mental illnesses were categorised into "neuroses" and "psychoses". But this disorder didn't fit in either category and was (and still often is) thought to be at the "border" of psychosis and neurosis.

People with borderline personality disorder manifest impulsive actions, inappropriate anger, depression , and suicide attempts. It is believed that genetics, environmental factors (e.g. early trauma and separations), and serotonin abnormalities may contribute to the disorder.

Abridged DSM-V Diagnostic Criteria of borderline personality disorder 301.83 (F60.3)

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterised by alternating between extremes of idealisation and devaluation.

3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse , reckless driving, binge eating).

5. Recurrent suicidal behaviour, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behaviour.

6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).

7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

Movies about Borderline personality disorder

If we missed an essential film about borderline personality disorder, please let us know. We would love to include it.

Note: Movies may trigger painful memories and emotions. Please use your judgement and ensure support is available if need be.

Movie Title: Welcome to Me - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rated: 5.9

Cast: Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Linda Cardellini

Storyline: When Alice Klieg, a woman with borderline personality disorder, wins the Mega-Millions lottery, she immediately discontinues her mental medications and purchases her own talk show.

Movie Title: Uncut Gems - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2019

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Idina Menzel

Storyline: Howard's character provides insight into borderline personality disorder. As his debts mounting and angry collectors closing in, he risks everything in hope of staying afloat and alive.

Movie Title: Gia - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1998

Rated: 6.9

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth Mitchell

Storyline: Gia is a top fashion model from the late 1970s who exhibits borderline personality disorder symptoms. The plot centres around her spectacular rise to the top of the modeling world and her unexpected death.

Movie Title: Margot at the Wedding - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2007

Rated: 6.0

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Flora Cross

Storyline: Margot, who has borderline personality disorder, decides to pay a visit to her sister Pauline when she announces her engagement to the unimpressive Malcolm.

Movie Title: Rachel Getting Married - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2008

Rated: 6.7

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger

Storyline: A young woman who has borderline personality disorder and has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years, goes home for the weekend to attend her sister's wedding.

Movie Title: Frances - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1982

Rated: 7.2

Cast: Jessica Lange, Jonathan Banks, Bonnie Bartlett

Storyline: Frances Farmer, a television broadcaster and actress in the 1930s, struggled with borderline personality disorder. Her career and personal life suffered as the symptoms of her mental illness worsened to the point where she was institutionalized.

Movie Title: The Home Song Stories - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2007

Rated: 7.2

Cast: Joan Chen, Yuwu Qi, Joel Lok

Storyline: An autobiographical film about a boy and his mother, a nightclub singer who has a borderline personality disorder. His mother's journey reveals painful truths about life.

Movie Title: Girl Interrupted - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1999

Rated: 7.3

Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall

Storyline: Set in a psychiatric hospital, a girl meets people with different mental health issues such as antisocial personality disorder , schizophrenia , borderline personality disorder , and many more.

Movie Title: Leave Her to Heaven - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1945

Rated: 7.7

Cast: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain

Storyline: A novelist meets a beautiful socialite who has borderline personality disorder. They fall in love and decide to get married but the woman's obsession with the novelist becomes dangerous.

Movie Title: A Streetcar Named Desire - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1951

Rated: 8.1

Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter

Storyline: A Southern belle named Blanche moves into her sister and brother-in-law's apartment. The young woman and her brother-in-law have narcissistic personality disorder . Also, Blanche has a borderline personality disorder. The two have an antagonistic relationship.

Movie Title: Play Misty for Me - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1971

Rated: 7

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills

Storyline: A radio show host impulsively sleeps with a woman he meets at a nightclub. The woman has a borderline personality disorder and becomes increasingly obsessed with him.

Movie Title: Looking for Mr. Goodbar - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1977

Rated: 6.7

Cast: Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Tuesday Weld

Storyline: A schoolteacher, who has a borderline personality disorder, teaches deaf children during the day and spends her nights cruising bars, looking for men with whom she can engage in violent sexual encounters.

Movie Title: Mommie Dearest - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1981

Rated: 6.6

Cast: Faye Dunaway, Diana Scarwid, Steve Forrest

Storyline: A glamorous star Joan Crawford adopts two orphans. She has a borderline personality disorder and her abusive behaviour becomes more obvious. Her adoptive daughter leaves home but her mother's presence still overshadows her.

Movie Title: Betty Blue - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1986

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle Gérard Darmon

Storyline: An aspiring novelist falls in love with a woman who has borderline personality disorder. His love for the woman is tested as the woman he loves slowly goes insane.

Movie Title: Fatal Attraction - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1987

Rated: 6.9

Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close

Storyline: A married lawyer gets into an extra-marital affair with his colleague who has a borderline personality disorder. The woman's behaviour becomes unstable and he needs to save himself and his family from her.

Movie Title: Bitter Moon - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1992

Rated: 7.1

Cast: Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner

Storyline: British couple Fiona and Nigel meets a wheelchair-bound man who has a borderline personality disorder. The man tells Nigel his sadomasochistic relationship with his wife. Nigel becomes infatuated with the man's wife but an unexpected thing happens.

Movie Title: Single White Female - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1992

Rated: 6.3

Cast: Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Steven Weber

Storyline: Allison a software designer welcomes Hedra Carlson as her new roommate. Hedra has antisocial and borderline personality disorders. Allison soon finds out Hedra's dark secrets.

Movie Title: The Crush - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1993

Rated: 5.7

Cast: Cary Elwes, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Rubin

Storyline: Writer Nick Eliot rents a room in the house of Cliff and Liv Forrester. The 14-year-old daughter develops a crush on him. She has a borderline personality disorder and proceeds to sabotage his life after he rejects her love.

Movie Title: Falling Down - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1993

Rated: 7.6

Cast: Michael Douglas, Robert Duvall, Barbara Hershey

Storyline: A middle-aged man named William Foster is unemployed and divorced. He is suffering from antisocial and borderline personality disorders. His increasing frustration levels lead him to act violently.

Movie Title: (Schramm) Into the Mind of a Serial Killer - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1993

Rated: 6

Cast: Florian Koerner von Gustof, Monica M, Micha Brendel

Storyline: Serial killer Lothar Schramm, who has a borderline personality disorder, lies dying in his own blood. Horrific memories flash before his eyes.

Movie Title: Casino - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1995

Rated: 8.2

Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci

Storyline: Ace, a mafia associate, is asked by his bosses to run the Tangiers Casino. His problems with his friend and his ex-wife who has borderline personality disorder put him in danger.

Movie Title: Mad Love - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1995

Rated: 5.2

Cast: Chris O'Donnell, Drew Barrymore, Matthew Lillard

Storyline: Matt falls in love with Casey who has a borderline personality disorder. She is sent to a mental institution after a suicide attempt but Matt helps her to escape. While on the run, Casey begins to show signs of instability.

Movie Title: The Cable Guy - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1996

Rated: 6

Cast: Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann

Storyline: Chip, a cable installer, has a borderline personality disorder. When one of his customers rejects their friendship, he is eager to ruin his customer's life.

Movie Title: Fear - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1996

Rated: 6.2

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen

Storyline: Nicole, a sixteen-year-old girl, falls in love with David, a guy who seems to be charming but has antisocial and borderline personality disorders. Things take a turn when David turns out to be a violent sociopath.

Movie Title: Me, Myself and Irene - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2000

Rated: 6.5

Cast: Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, Anthony Anderson

Storyline: Charlie Baileygates, a devoted and loving father to three sons, suffers from dissociative identity disorder and borderline personality disorder. He has to deal with Hank, his hyper-aggressive alter-ego.

Movie Title: Original Sin - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2001

Rated: 6.1

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Angelina Jolie, Thomas Jane

Storyline: A con artist woman who has a borderline personality disorder, along with her sadistic lover, plans to marry a rich man to steal his money but she falls in love with him.

Movie Title: Prozac Nation - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2001

Rated: 6.3

Cast: Christina Ricci, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jessica Lange

Storyline: Lizzie is a Harvard university student. She has a borderline personality disorder and struggles with clinical depression . She seeks psychiatric counselling from Dr. Diana Sterling who prescribes the wonder drug Prozac.

Movie Title: One Hour Photo - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rated: 6.8

Cast: Robin Williams, Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan

Storyline: Sy Parrish, who has a borderline personality disorder, makes a living by developing photos. He gets obsessed with a family who are his regular customers.

Movie Title: Monster - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2003

Rated: 7.3

Cast: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern

Storyline: The true story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos who has a borderline personality disorder. She works as a prostitute and develops a lesbian relationship with another woman named Selby. Aileen lures her victims and kills them to take their money.

Movie Title: Thirteen - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2003

Rated: 6.9

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed

Storyline: Tracy, who has a borderline personality disorder, befriends Evie who is a bad influence. Tracy's mother realises she must stop her daughter's destructive lifestyle by separating the two young girls.

Movie Title: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2004

Rated: 8.4

Cast: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson

Storyline: Clementine Kruczynski has symptoms of borderline personality disorder. After a difficult breakup with her boyfriend, Joel Barish, she wants to have her memories of him erased by a medical procedure. Joel undergoes the same procedure to forget the woman he loves.

Movie Title: Head-On (Turkish) - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2004

Rated: 8

Cast: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli, Güven Kirac

Storyline: A Turkish man who is sent to a mental institution, meets a girl who has a borderline personality disorder. She convinces him to marry her to escape their family tradition. The two begin their strange romance.

Movie Title: Wicker Park - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2004

Rated: 7

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Matthew Lillard

Storyline: Matthew, an advertising executive falls in love with a woman but she mysteriously disappears. He meets Alex, a woman who has a borderline personality disorder. Matthew learns the truth about Lisa's disappearance.

Movie Title: Notes on a Scandal - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2006

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Andrew Simpson

Storyline: Barbara, a veteran high school teacher who has a borderline personality disorder, befriends Sheba, a younger teacher. Barbara discovers that Sheba is having an affair with a student and sees the chance to manipulate and get closer to the younger teacher.

Movie Title: The Tracey Fragments - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2007

Rated: 6.2

Cast: Ellen Page, Zie Souwand, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

Storyline: Tracy, who has a borderline personality disorder, sits traumatised on a bus. She is looking for her lost little brother. Flashbacks reveal the truth about her brother's disappearance.

Movie Title: Borderline

Release: 2008

Rated: 6.7

Cast: Isabelle Blais, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Angèle Coutu

Storyline: A literature student suffers from a borderline personality disorder. As she turns 30, she reflects on her past life.

Movie Title: Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2008

Rated: 7.2

Cast: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem

Storyline: Cristina and her friend Vicky, arrive in Barcelona for a summer vacation. They meet seductive painter Juan who invites them to spend a weekend with him. Things become complicated when Juan's ex-wife arrives on the scene.

Movie Title: Chloe - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rated: 6.5

Cast: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson

Storyline: A gynaecologist suspects that her husband is cheating on her. She hires a call girl to meet her husband and see if he gives in to temptation. The relationships between all three become complicated.

Movie Title: Orphan - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rated: 7

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman

Storyline: A couple adopts a nine-year-old girl named Esther. They soon find out her mysterious past. She is a psychopath with borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders .

Movie Title: Shame - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rated: 7.3

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carrey Mulligan, James Badge Dale

Storyline: A successful New Yorker, who is a sex addict, is surprised by his sister's arrival at his house. Her sister who has borderline personality disorder stirs memories of their shared painful past.

Movie Title: Anna Karenina - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2012

Rated: 6.6

Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Storyline: Anna Karenina is the wife of a Russian imperial minister. She has a borderline personality disorder. Her affair with the cavalry officer leads her to tragedy and grief .

Movie Title: Frozen - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2013

Rated: 7.6

Cast: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff

Storyline: Anna together with her friends finds her sister Elsa. Elsa exhibits traits of borderline personality disorder and isolates herself, trying to suppress her powers.

Movie Title: The Great Gatsby - Click to watch

Release: 2013

Rated: 7.3

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton

Storyline: Nick, a would-be writer, becomes drawn into the world of the wealthy man named Jay Gatsby. Jay has a borderline personality disorder and does everything to get back the love of his life.

Movie Title: Truth - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2013

Rated: 6.7

Cast: Rebekah Aramini, Blanche Baker, Angel Brazier

Storyline: Caleb, who suffers from borderline personality disorder falls head over heels for Jeremy. Caleb struggles to keep his dark past a secret.

Movie Title: Gone Girl - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rated: 8.1

Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris

Storyline: Former New York-based writer Nick Dunne becomes the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance. His wife, Amy, has antisocial and borderline personality disorders and frames her husband.

Movie Title: The Skeleton Twins - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rated: 6.9

Cast: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson

Storyline: Milo, who has attempted to commit suicide, is visited by his twin, Maggie, who has a borderline personality disorder. The unexpected reunion forces them to confront why their lives became broken.

Movie Title: Family Life - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1971

Rated: 7.9

Cast: Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, Grace Cave

Storyline: A young girl grows up in an extremely controlling family. They are behind her borderline personality disorder.

References and Links

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

What are the signs and symptoms of Borderline personality disorder?: https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/about-mental-illness/learn-more-about-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/

More on Borderline personality disorder: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-disorders/borderline-personality-disorder.htm

Borderline personality disorder according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderline_personality_disorder

Acknowledgements

The above article was written under my close direction and supervision. However, much credit goes to Charlene Poliquit (my right-hand man) and Andri Eigenberger (my beloved aunt) for their huge efforts in bringing this task to life.

Vincenzo Sinisi

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay