For me, this was the Cassavettes film that had the strongest impact on me. The story of one couple who truly love each other deeply yet can’t bridge the communication gap or express themselves the way they would like, which ultimately results in the breakdown of the mind and emotion. They can never hit the right note in their relationship, but they both struggle so hard to do so. Rowlands wants to be the perfect wife, mother, daughter and friend, but winds up alienating herself from everyone in the process. Meanwhile, Nick almost resigns himself to the situation without taking partial responsibility for the situation himself, which shows a kind of double standard. Nick is portrayed, imo, as the stabilizing force in the marriage, but really he’s every bit as emotionally fragile as his wife, teetering on the edge of a breakdown. A truly heartbreaking film. And it ends very realistically, with the couple staying together, not knowing what comes next, such as is in life.
Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane and Clean, Shaven are outstanding, very eye-level and unflinching.
less realistically, Sam Fuller’s Shock Corridor
i’m not sure if it fits your “madness” theme but Cassavetes Opening Night also features a strong and disturbing performance by Rowlands. I’m extremely jealous that you got to see Woman in theaters. It’s a landmark film. My number 3 holy grail of film remains Cassavetes Love Streams which isn’t available in a region 1 disc but also features Rowlands in a portrait of extreme emotion.
The supporting actors in Cuckoo’s Nest do an exceptional job portraying various mental disorders but for that pure emotional impact that you describe, especially in a family setting, I think that Gena Rowlands takes the cake. Was she mad? I don’t know. Was she any crazier than that uptight guy in the suit who couldn’t imagine letting himself go and having a little fun? Even some of the characters in Cuckoo’s Nest seemed more normal, by the end of the movie, than some of the hospital staff, which I think was the point of the film.
I had been following the story of John Forbes Nash Jr. ever since the first article about him appeared in the New York Times. I was completely intrigued by this story of a mathematical genius descending into the strange, nightmarish world of schizophrenia, suffering through three decades of mental illness and solitude and then ultimately recovering and awarded the Nobel Prize. The book, A Beautiful Mind, was excellent. The movie with Russell Crowe was ok but rather disappointing in capturing the whole story.
I’m going to toss a few obscure films in this post to supplement the well-known pictures dealing in madness, in the modest hope that you might seek them out.
For me, it was Lilith (1964), Robert Rossen’s swansong. It’s the cinematography, pure & simple. Rossen lights his shots in shades of white and gray so delicate it feels like the film might unravel before my eyes. This, of course, reflects the precarious mental state of several key players in the film. Possibly Jean Seberg’s best role. I would say the same for Peter Fonda had Ulee’s Gold not been in his future.
The picture does not completely convince, but its successes far outweigh its liabilities.
Pollock also draws us into the fragile mind of a troubled soul, in this case, the artist Jackson Pollock, whose paintings seem to mirror his state of mind. And that is terrifying and beautiful all at once. I applaud Ed Harris for bringing this labor of love to fruition. As a director, he delivers a remarkable film. As the star, his performance is miraculous; he even resembles the late artist.
Cuckoo’s Nest is still mesmerizing after 34 years, although Ken Kesey’s book deserves a read just to compare the important changes from text to film.
Girl, Interrupted has its moments, but too often takes the easy feel-good route (in spite of one notable tragedy). I think the use of Petula’s Clark’s early ’60s hit “Downtown” is about as perfect a choice for a pop song over the closing credits as I have seen in film. It conveys a sense of renewal and optimism that affirms our beleif in the triumph of the human spirit, cliched though that may be.
Going back to the dawn of German Expressionism, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari does a stunning job of evoking madness in visual terms. I have seen nothing like it since in terms of set design and the dreamlike quality of its images.
Also, if we can overlap briefly with horror, the movies Carnival of Souls and Jacob’s Ladder flirt with madness while blending heavy elements of the supernatural. I have long thought those two would make a fadcinating double-bill and perhaps someday I’ll get around to it.
Then there’s Taxi Driver, but that could fill an entire separate post. Had Peter Finch not died and been awarded the Best Actor Oscar posthumously (for a role exploring the cult of a madman, no less), I harbor no doubt DeNiro would have won his second statuette.
Cheers,
Steve
CinemaUprising.Blogspot.com
A Woman Under The Influence sears the screen, and if one is open to it fully, the mind as well. In that state, moment to moment, it can be one of the most thrilling experiences one may have watching a film. As great as it is, I believe that if it had come to us by way of a European or Scandinavian filmmaker, the world would be singing hosannahs on its behalf. Oh, well…
Professor Ray Carney, if you are unfamiliar with him, as written extensively on Cassavetes and his art. He has done all it is possible to do to see to it that these films and their maker are not forgotten. One thing he’s discussed is Cassavetes admiration for C.T. Dreyer, and his influence upon Cassavetes own filmmaking. For me, that was such a huge “Huh…wha’?” moment. Initially, I couldn’t get my mind around that. Could another filmmaker possibly be at so seemingly far a remove from Cassavetes then Dreyer? For one, Cassavetes felt an affinity for Dreyer’s use of the close-up, and then there’s Dreyer’s placement of a woman at the center of many of his narratives. If you’re looking for the depiction of an anguished relationship, of a marriage in extremis, “Day Of Wrath” will do. I just love AWUTI.
I second the mention of “Clean Shaven” and “Keane”. Madness is harrowing. I want to see the losing touch with this world as the mind retreats elsewhere. I’d have to say “Lost Highway” then for the hellish fugue state Lynch examines.
What would say about “Performance” and “In The Realm Of Passion”, and the way madness is presented in each?
I like the Madman Hero, or Heroine. I like being able to identify with a character who breaks the rules while usually feeling somewhat tormented about it.
Renoir’s La Bete Humaine is an excellent film about a madman who is used by a slinky femme fatale to commit a crime. To a lesser extent, After Dark My Sweet is about the same thing.
Pressure Point is a fascinating film about the therapeutic relationship, and contains a disturbing scenes where a gang of sociopathic thugs cover an entire bar (including the waitress) with tic-tac-toe boards.
Fassbinder made numerous films in which people are driven into depression or psychosis by the mundane, tedious conformity of middle class life — Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?, The Merchant of Four Seasons, Fear of Fear, I Only Want You to Love Me, Despair. He loved the idea of the overstressed worker who snaps one day — killing others and himself — what we call “going postal.” It figures into The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven. He also saw insanity as a sign of hope, a kind of rebellion, and he dedicated Despair to a trio of famous artists who were branded as insane: Antonin Artaud, Vincent Van Gogh, and Ulrica Zurn “because all three were people who could be happy in their madness, until they killed themselves. I really don’t know, but I think that they lived a very private utopia in their madness.”
Bergman was also fascinated by madness, but more as a kind of curse from God, a sign of being cut off from spiritual life. Madness in Bergman is a kind of living damnation.
Lars Von Triers Dancer in the Dark might also fit the madness theme. It’s a great movie as well.
Two films I’m aware of that treat the subject of autism:
House of Cards (1993) by Michael Lessac
Rain Man (1988) by Barry Levinson
I’ve seen a trailer of the first (a mother tries to reach her daughter in this one) and have seen Rain Man, played by Dustin Hoffman. Shopping at a K-Mart presents an opportunity for a major breakthrough in communication when the younger brother (Tom Cruise) mirrors the older brother’s disappointment over an unsuccessful purchase by saying “K-Mart sucks!” It is a memorable film.
Sunset Boulevard (1950) by Billy Wilder depicts delusional disorder of a silent film star who is unable to accept the fact that the world of cinema had moved on.
In addition to the above, I have heard of:
Through a Glass Darkly (1961) by Ingmar Bergman … schizophrenia
Sylvia (2003) by Christine Jeffs … about Sylvia Plath who suffered from bipolar disorder
Stefanie Botelho
Dear forum, it’s me Margaret.
I recently popped my “A Woman Under the Influence” cherry and was profoundly disturbed (touched?) by Gena Rowlands’ performance as well as Peter Falk’s. Spolier alert — the film tells the heartbreaking story of the unraveling of the Longhetti family as a loving husband, Nick, tries to deal with his wife, Mabel’s, mental instability and eventually has her committed. Cassavetes then shows the destruction of the family six months later when Mabel returns home. I left the theatre a ball of emotion; sadness for the overall family situation, helplessness at an inability for anyone in the family or friend circle to just hold things together, hope that the unconditional love between Nick and Mabel can translate from the silver screen into real life, personal identification on a much lesser level to a need to be understood by those you love and who love you. Because I saw the film in a theatre, the emotion I felt most strongly was, surprisingly, a strange sense of protectiveness (I know that is not a real word) towards Mabel and the entire Longhetti family. Mabel and Nick’s most heartbreaking moments, their most exposed and vulnerable, were also some of the most comical in the film and generated the biggest laughs from the crowd. The group reaction made the film oddly hard for me to watch. To hear people laugh at a family’s most initimate moments splashed across the screen was not only uncomfortable but stirred in me an angry (yikes — dare I say, maternal?) want to shelter.
What are some of your favorite representations/examinations of madness in film, how have you reacted to them and why?