Films exploring mental health — depression, anxiety, therapy, and the human mind.
Mental Health Movies — 42 entries in the movies category, sortable by Title, Year, Director. Every row is ranked by community votes, giving you a crowd-sourced perspective you won't find on Wikipedia or IMDb.
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A peculiar neighbor offers hope to a recent widow who is struggling to raise a teenager who is unpredictable and, sometimes, violent.
Joker
2019
Todd Phillips
8.1
Crime, Thriller, Drama
Canada
122
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
8½
1963
Federico Fellini
8.1
Drama
Italy
139
Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retr...
The Elephant Man
1980
David Lynch
8
Drama, History
United States of America
124
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deforme...
A Beautiful Mind
2001
Ron Howard
7.9
Drama, Romance
United States of America
135
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of international acclaim. But as the handsome and arrogant Nash acce...
Captain Fantastic
2016
Matt Ross
7.9
Adventure, Drama
United States of America
118
Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.
Donnie Darko
2001
Richard Kelly
7.8
Fantasy, Drama, Mystery
United States of America
114
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2012
Stephen Chbosky
7.8
Drama
United States of America
103
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.
The Whale
2022
Darren Aronofsky
7.8
Drama
United States of America
117
A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.
Black Swan
2010
Darren Aronofsky
7.7
Drama, Thriller, Horror
United States of America
108
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".
Aftersun
2022
Charlotte Wells
7.7
Drama
United Kingdom
101
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.
Girl, Interrupted
1999
James Mangold
7.6
Drama
United States of America
127
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get ...
The Holdovers
2023
Alexander Payne
7.6
Comedy, Drama
United States of America
133
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has jus...
Harold and Maude
1971
Hal Ashby
7.6
Comedy, Drama, Romance
United States of America
92
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Synecdoche, New York
2008
Charlie Kaufman
7.5
Drama
United States of America
124
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Repulsion
1965
Roman Polanski
7.4
Drama, Thriller, Horror
United Kingdom
105
Beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen, leaves their London flat to go on an Italian holiday with her married boyfriend, Carole withdraws into her apartment. She begins to experience frightful...
The Hours
2002
Stephen Daldry
7.3
Drama
United Kingdom
114
The story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a surprising, transcendent moment of shared recognition.
The Fisher King
1991
Terry Gilliam
7.3
Comedy, Drama
United States of America
138
Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
Melancholia
2011
Lars von Trier
7.2
Drama, Science Fiction
Denmark
130
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
To the Bone
2017
Marti Noxon
7.2
Drama
United States of America
107
A young woman dealing with anorexia meets an unconventional doctor who challenges her to face her condition and embrace life.
Lars and the Real Girl
2007
Craig Gillespie
7.2
Comedy, Drama, Romance
United States of America
107
Extremely shy Lars finds it impossible to make friends or socialize. His brother and sister-in-law worry about him, so when he announces that he has a girlfriend he met on the Internet, they are overjoyed. But Lars' new lady is a life-size plastic woman. On the advice of a doctor, his family and ...
Silver Linings Playbook
2012
David O. Russell
7.1
Drama, Comedy, Romance
United States of America
122
After losing his job and wife, and spending time in an institution, a former teacher winds up living with his parents. He wants to rebuild his life and reconcile with his wife, but his father would be happy if he shared his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. Things get complicated when he me...
Punch-Drunk Love
2002
Paul Thomas Anderson
7.1
Romance, Drama, Comedy
United States of America
96
A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.
Garden State
2004
Zach Braff
7.1
Comedy, Drama, Romance
United States of America
102
Andrew returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral, a journey that reconnects him with old friends. The trip coincides with his decision to stop taking his powerful antidepressants. A chance meeting with Sam—a girl also struggling with various maladies—opens up the possibility of rekindling ...
Anomalisa
2015
Duke Johnson
7.1
Animation, Drama, Romance, Comedy
United States of America
91
An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.
Blue Jasmine
2013
Woody Allen
7
Drama
United States of America
99
After experiencing a traumatic misfortune, Jasmine French, a wealthy woman from New York, moves to San Francisco to live with her foster sister Ginger and the firm purpose of getting a new life, but she will be haunted by anxiety and memories of the past.
Blue Valentine
2010
Derek Cianfrance
7
Drama, Romance
United States of America
112
Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.
Dogtooth
2009
Yorgos Lanthimos
7
Drama
Greece
98
Three teenagers are confined to an isolated country estate that could very well be on another planet. The trio spend their days listening to endless homemade tapes that teach them a whole new vocabulary. Any word that comes from beyond their family abode is instantly assigned a new meaning. Hence...
It's Kind of a Funny Story
2010
Anna Boden
7
Comedy, Drama
United States of America
102
A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
Take Shelter
2011
Jeff Nichols
7
Thriller, Drama, Horror
United States of America
120
Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
Boy Erased
2018
Joel Edgerton
7
Drama
Australia
115
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
2013
Lars von Trier
6.7
Drama, Mystery
Germany
124
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Side Effects
2013
Steven Soderbergh
6.6
Thriller, Crime, Drama
United States of America
106
A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.
Antichrist
2009
Lars von Trier
6.6
Drama, Horror, Thriller
Denmark
104
A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Stoker
2013
Park Chan-wook
6.6
Drama, Horror, Thriller
United States of America
99
After India's father dies in an auto accident, her uncle Charlie, whom she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her emotionally unstable mother Evelyn. Soon after his arrival, she comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives, but instead of feeling outrage or horr...
Kinds of Kindness
2024
Yorgos Lanthimos
6.5
Drama, Comedy
Ireland
164
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become...
Welcome to Marwen
2018
Robert Zemeckis
6.5
Drama, Comedy
Canada
116
When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town named Marwen where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation — a test...
The Double
2014
Richard Ayoade
6.5
Thriller, Drama
United Kingdom
93
An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.
Ingrid Goes West
2017
Matt Spicer
6.4
Comedy, Drama
United States of America
98
Ingrid becomes obsessed with a social network star named Taylor Sloane who seemingly has a perfect life. But when Ingrid decides to drop everything and move west to be Taylor's friend, her behaviour turns unsettling and dangerous.
Maps to the Stars
2014
David Cronenberg
6.2
Drama
Canada
112
Driven by an intense need for fame and validation, members of a dysfunctional Hollywood family are chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.
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Frequently asked questions
How is the Mental Health Movies list ranked?
The Mental Health Movies list is ranked by community votes. Every visitor can pick one option over another in head-to-head matchups, and the running totals determine the order you see. No editors or algorithms — just real people voting.
How many entries are in this Mental Health Movies dataset?
This dataset contains 42 entries, each with multiple sortable, filterable columns. The full table is visible on this page and can be downloaded as a CSV, JSON, or Excel file.
Can I download the Mental Health Movies data?
Yes. The download buttons at the top of the page give you the full 42-row dataset as CSV, JSON, or Excel. Use of the data is permitted under a Creative Commons Attribution license — credit dtbse.com when you republish.
