Movies about depressive disorders- 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 straightforward 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 are Depressive Disorders?

Sadness is a natural response to situations involving psychological, emotional, and/or physical pain, e.g. loss, disappointment and periods of grief and mourning. We all go through low periods and we aren't always sure of why this is the case. It may be that we are over-worked, dealing with a breakup, lonely, or struggling seasonal allergies. Although each of these can be related to a depressive disorder, they are also a part of normal life.

When a person experiences persistent and intense feelings of sadness for extended periods, which decrease their ability to function, then they may have a depressive disorder.

The subjective experience of a depressive disorder varies from person to person. For some, it is a relentless barrage of self-critical thoughts, for others, it's the sense of utter pointlessness [the past is a failure and the future a fog]. For others still, it is a physical experience of low energy and emptiness of mind.

In psychiatry, depressive disorders are defined in the DSM-5 (diagnostic manual) by taking note of observable behaviours. Note that the diagnosis is a description and does explain or not imply cause. The most well known is "Major depressive disorder". This is defined as follows…

 

Major Depressive Disorder | Included for educational purposes

A. Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning: at least one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.

1. Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, hopeless) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). (Note: In children and adolescents, can be irritable mood.)

2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day (as indicated by either subjective account or observation).

3. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day.

4. Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day.

5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down).

6. Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.

7. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional ) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick).

8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or as observed by others).

9. Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

B. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

C. The episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or to another medical condition.

D. The occurrence of the major depressive episode is not better explained by schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia , schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder , or other specified and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.

E. There has never been a manic episode or a hypomanic episode.

 

Movies about Depressive Disorders

If we missed an essential film about depressive disorders, 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: Pieces of a Woman

Release: 2020

Rated: 7.0

Cast: Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn

Storyline: Martha's home delivery ends tragically. She is grieving and depressed, yet she learns to live with her loss.

 

 

Movie Title: Gravity - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2013

Rated: 7.7

Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris

Storyline: Two astronauts get depressed and lose their will to live after becoming stranded in space.

 

 

Movie Title: Stranger Than Fiction - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2006

Rated: 7.5

Cast: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman

Storyline: Harold Crick, a depressed man, learns that his ordinary Chicago life has been abruptly converted into the subject of narration, which begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.

 

 

Movie Title: Manchester by the Sea - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2016

Rated: 7.8

Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler

Storyline: A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his nephew after the boy's father passes away.

 

 

Movie Title: Garden State - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2004

Rated: 7.4

Cast: Zach Braff, Peter Sarsgaard, Natalie Portman

Storyline: Zack is depressed and burdened by a lot of baggage, and he is now dealing with bereavement in his heavily medicated state as best he can. He meets his dream girl, who inspires him to see life in an entirely different way.

 

 

Movie Title: Little Miss Sunshine - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2006

Rated: 7.8

Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear

Storyline: Frank, a middle-aged scholar who just recently lost his job, went through depression. His family goes on a road trip from New Mexico to California in hopes of having their daughter Olive win a children’s beauty pageant.

 

 

Movie Title: The Virgin Suicides - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1992

Rated: 7.2

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods

Storyline: The plot revolves around a group of teenage girls who feel depression after being forced to stay at home in isolation.

 

 

Movie Title: Just Like You: Anxiety and Depression - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2022

Rated: 5.7

Cast: Hilaire Phillips, Ryan Lefebvre, Dylan Scheidt

Storyline: A documentary film about 10 brave youngsters, two Emmy-winning journalists, a clinical psychologist from Columbia University, and a determined mother who fight the stigma and fear that plague the mental health community.

 

 

Movie Title: Sophies Choice - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1982

Rated: 7.7

Cast: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol

Storyline: A young writer who moves to Brooklyn meets a woman who is a Holocaust survivor and her delusional boyfriend. The young woman suffers from clinical depression. The writer is about to discover her darkest secret.

 

 

Movie Title: It's a Wonderful Life - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1946

Rated: 8.6

Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

Storyline: A man named George suffers from clinical depression and wants to commit suicide. As he is about to jump from a bridge but ends up rescuing his guardian angel. The angel shows him the reasons to live.

 

 

Movie Title: The Wrong Man - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1956

Rated: 7.5

Cast: Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle

Storyline: A man visits an insurance company to borrow money for his wife's dental treatment. He is accused of robbing the company. This difficult situation causes his wife to suffer from clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: Grizzly Man - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2005

Rated: 7.8

Cast: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Warner Herzog

Storyline: A documentary about a man who lives with the grizzly bears in Alaska. He spent years suffering from clinical depression before he began his obsession with bears that leads to his death.

 

 

Movie Title: The Night Mother - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1986

Rated: 7.5

Cast: Sissy Spacek, Anne Bancroft, Ed Berke

Storyline: A mother's daughter suffers from clinical depression and wants to end her life before the next sunrise. The mother tries her best to convince her daughter that life is worth living.

 

 

Movie Title: The Fire Within - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1963

Rated: 8.1

Cast: Maurice Ronet, Lèna Skerla, Yvonne Clech

Storyline: A man who suffers from clinical depression visits his friends in Paris. He tries to give his life a second try if it is worth living or not.

 

 

Movie Title: Interiors - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1978

Rated: 7.6

Cast: Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, Kristin Griffith

Storyline: Arthur is recently divorced from his wife who suffers from clinical depression. Their daughters' lives are shattered after learning of the unexpected divorce.

 

 

Movie Title: Ordinary People - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1980

Rated: 7.8

Cast: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore

Storyline: After the death of his older brother, a teenager suffers from clinical depression. He tries his best to reconnect with his parents with the help of a psychiatrist.

 

 

Movie Title: Dead Ringers - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1988

Rated: 7.3

Cast: Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold, heide Von Palleske

Storyline: Twin gynaecologists have an interest in one of their patients. One of the twins falls deeply in love with the patient. The twins' situation spirals into substance abuse and clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: An Angel at My Table - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1990

Rated: 7.6

Cast: Kerry Fox, Alexia Keogh, Karren Fergusson

Storyline: The story of a woman who suffers from clinical depression and schizophrenia during her teenage years. Her success follows after her stay at the mental institution.

 

 

Movie Title: Leaving Las Vegas - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1995

Rated: 7.6

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands

Storyline: An alcoholic screenwriter with clinical depression lost everything due to his alcoholism . He meets a prostitute in Las Vegas and moves in with her.

 

 

Movie Title: Kids in the Hall, Brain Candy - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1996

Rated: 6.8

Cast: Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald

Storyline: A group of scientists is working on a drug that is supposed to cure clinical depression but instead, they created a drug that will help people remember happy memories.

 

 

Movie Title: What Dreams May Come - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1998

Rated: 7

Cast: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra

Storyline: A man who reunites with his children in heaven after death tries to save his wife's soul in hell after she committed suicide, Clinical depression is the reason for her suicide.

 

 

Movie Title: American Beauty - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1999

Rate: 8.4

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

Storyline: A man who suffers from clinical depression starts to fall in love with his daughter's best friend.

 

Movie Title: Girl, Interrupted - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1999

Rate: 7.3

Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression meets a manipulative girl in an institution that influences her and worsens her situation.

 

 

Movie Title: On the Edge - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2001

Rate: 7.1

Cast: Gillian Murphy, Tricia Vessey, Martin Carney

Storyline: A man who suffers from clinical depression is sent to an institution where he meets his new friends and starts to value life.

 

 

Movie Title: Prozac Nation - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2001

Rate: 6.3

Cast: Christina Ricci, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jessica Lange

Storyline: A teenager struggles from clinical depression as she enters and starts her journey at Harvard.

 

 

Movie Title: The Royal Tenenbaums - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2001

Rate: 8

Cast: Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Houston

Storyline: Clinical depression runs deep in this film as the family members struggle with different problems. Their estranged father tries to make things right with his family.

 

 

Movie Title: About a Boy - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rate: 7.1

Cast: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette

Storyline: A rich and immature man meets a boy who struggles living with his mom who has clinical depression. The boy's arrival in his life teaches him and helps him to be a mature man.

 

 

Movie Title: The Hours - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rate: 7.6

Cast: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore

Storyline: Women, from three different generations, each struggling with clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: Love Liza - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rate: 7

Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Annie Morgan, Kathy Bates

Storyline: After the death of his wife, a man suffers from clinical depression. It takes him so long to open a letter that she gave to him.

 

 

Movie Title: House of Sand and Fog - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2003

Rate: 7.6

Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression finds out that her house is being sold. The new owner is not willing to give up the house, and neither she. Disaster follows.

 

 

Movie Title: Wristcutters - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2006

Rate: 7.4

Cast: Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, Tom Waits

Storyline: A man who suffers from clinical depression kills himself. He wakes up in another world. Thinking his girlfriend is there by mistake, he tries to find her.

 

 

Movie Title: Goodbye Solo - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2008

Rate: 7.4

Cast: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo

Storyline: A cab driver tries to show the joy of living to an aged man who suffers from clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: Antichrist - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 6.6

Cast: William Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsburg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm

Storyline: After the death of their baby, the mother suffers from clinical depression. Her psychiatrist husband attempts to treat her but the situation becomes worse.

 

 

Movie Title: Helen - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 6.4

Cast: Ashley Judd, Goran Visnjic, Lauren Lee Smith

Storyline: The story is about a professor whose deep secrets lead her into a clinical depression

 

 

Movie Title: Shrink - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 6.7

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Mark Webber, Keke Palmer

Storyline: A Hollywood psychiatrist suffers from clinical depression after his wife's suicide. He seeks refuge in substance abuse .

 

 

Movie Title: A Single Man - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 7.6

Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode

Storyline: After his partner's death by a car accident, a professor suffers from clinical depression. He plans to end his life by committing suicide but things didn't go as to how he plans.

 

 

Movie Title: Veronika Decides to Die - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 6.5

Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jonathan Tucker, Erika Christensen

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression tries to commit suicide but survives. Inside the mental hospital, she lets herself experience relationships and discovers what it means to live.

 

 

Movie Title: Chatroom - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2010

Rate: 5.6

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Imogen Poots, Matthew Beard

Storyline: A teenager with clinical depression creates a chatroom where he and other teens meet and share their struggles. At first, he's a help, but later on, he becomes a threat to them.

 

 

Movie Title: It's Kind of a Funny Story - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2010

Rate: 7.2

Cast: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts

Storyline: An artistic teenager with clinical depression goes to a psychiatric hospital where his new journey starts. He begins to pursue his dream.

 

 

Movie Title: The Beaver - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rate: 6.7

Cast: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin

Storyline: An owner of a toy company struggles with clinical depression when the company is about to close due to bankruptcy. He meets a beaver puppet that has a huge impact on his life.

 

 

Movie Title: Melancholia - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rate: 7.1

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Storyline: The lives of two sisters, one with clinical depression and one with anxiety , get twisted when they discover that a new planet called Melancholia is about to collide with Earth.

 

 

Movie Title: Oslo, 31 August (Norwegian) - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rate: 7.7

Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava

Storyline: A recovering drug addict decides to have a short leave for a job interview and to catch up with some friends in Oslo while he struggles with clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: Suicide Room (Polish) - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rate: 6.9

Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Roma Gasiorowska, Agata Kulesza

Storyline: A teenager who falls into clinical depression keeps himself in his room where he starts virtual connections that lead to a disastrous end.

 

 

Movie Title: We Have a Pope (Italian French) - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2011

Rate: 6.7

Cast: Michel Piccoli, Naumi Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr

Storyline: A newly elected pope suffers from a panic attack and clinical depression. He refuses to show up so the cardinals decided to seek help from a therapist.

 

 

Movie Title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2012

Rate: 8

Cast: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller

Storyline: A teenager with clinical depression meets two senior students who help him cope with the real world.

 

 

Movie Title: Side Effects - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2013

Rate: 7.1

Cast: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression was given a new medicine by her doctor which will not only ruin her marriage but also her doctor's career.

 

 

Movie Title: Cake - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rate: 6.5

Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick

Storyline: A woman who exhibits symptoms of clinical depression becomes fascinated by the suicide of her group member. She tries to know the details of her death. They are a big help in her progress.

 

 

Movie Title: Two Days, One Night - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rate: 7.4

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression struggles as she has only one week left to keep her work by convincing her workmates to return the bonuses they got.

 

 

Movie Title: Mr. Jones - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1993

Rate: 5.7

Cast: Richard Gere, Lena Olin, Anne Bancroft

Storyline: The love story of a psychiatrist who falls in love with her patient who suffers from bipolar and clinical depression.

 

 

Movie Title: Precious - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2009

Rate: 7.4

Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton

Storyline: A teenager who suffers from clinical depression after being sexually abused by her father finds comfort by imagining that she's a model or a singer. She enrols in an alternative school hoping for a better future ahead.

 

 

Movie Title: Mr. Holland's Opus - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1995

Rate: 7.3

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas

Storyline: After John Lennon's death, a composer struggles with clinical depression. He finds joy in life when he starts to teach in a school as a music teacher.

 

Movie Title: Amy - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2015

Rate: 7.9

Cast: Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson

Storyline: A documentary about Amy's fame, clinical depression, and music career.

 

 

Movie Title: Wild - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rate: 7.2

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffmann

Storyline: A woman with clinical depression tries to unwind by hiking alone to forget all her problems.

 

 

Movie Title: The Babadook - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2014

Rate: 6.9

Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall

Storyline: After her husband's death, a mother who has clinical depression battles with her child's fear of a monster called Babadook.

 

 

Movie Title: Vincent & Theo - Watch now on Prime

Release: 1990

Rate: 7.1

Cast: Tim Roth, Paul Rhys, Adrian Brine

Storyline: The story of Vincent Van Gogh who struggles with clinical depression and his brother who always supports him.

 

 

Movie Title: Sylvia - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2003

Rate: 6.3

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Davenport

Storyline: A woman with depression struggles to balance her growing career and marriage which makes her want to end her life.

 

 

Movie Title: Devdas (Hindi) - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2002

Rate: 7.6

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit

Storyline: After not being able to marry the one he loves, Devdas suffers from depression and sinks into alcoholism .

 

 

Movie Title: Swiss Army Man - Watch now on Prime

Release: 2016

Rate: 7.0

Cast: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Storyline: A man attempts to commit suicide after being lost on an island. He sees a corpse on the shore and develops a friendship with the dead body.

 

 

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 is a depressive disorder?: https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/01583965211717A9CA257BF0001E8D74/$File/whatdep2.pdf

More about depression: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

Types of depression: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression/types-of-depression

Depression according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_(mood)

 

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

 

Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash