10 psychological films that will make you think about a lot

1. Stay in my shoes

Under the skin

• UK, USA, Switzerland, 2013.
• Horror, fantasy, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.3.

• Topics covered in the film: gender relations, loneliness, inability to adapt to the outside world.

Alien the creature takes on the guise of a seductive woman and begins to seduce earthly men. Only instead of sex, the unfortunate will face a cruel reprisal. The situation changes slightly when an alien meets a person with a congenital external defect and is imbued with sympathy for the victim.

Stay in My Skin is based on Michel Faber's science fiction novel Under the Skin. But only the general outline remained from the original plot during the adaptation. At the same time, director Jonathan Glazer combined science fiction and documentary. So, a significant part of the film was filmed with a hidden camera, and most of the people who appear in the frame are ordinary passers-by.

This story can be interpreted in different ways, but at the end there are a lot of questions. However, in any case, Glazer came out with a very unusual experimental movie, and Scarlett Johansson played one of her best roles here.

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2. Out of myself

Unsane

• USA, 2018.
• Thriller, detective.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.4.

• Topics covered in the film: sexual abuse, stalking, paranoia.

A young bank employee named Sawyer Valentini is forced to leave her hometown, fleeing from an obsessive admirer. In a new place, the girl turns to a psychiatrist in search of support. There she inadvertently signs a consent to hospitalization and is locked in the walls. hospitals. But the worst thing is that one of the orderlies, as it seems to her, is the same stalker.

As an experiment, Steven Soderbergh decided to shoot his entire thriller on the iPhone. And thus he proved that a good author, even without a professional camera, is able to create an atmosphere of suspense and keep the viewer's attention.

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3. Swallow

Swallow

• USA, France, 2019.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.5.

• Topics covered in the film: loneliness, depersonalization, fear of pregnancy, fear of losing control over the situation.

Hunter is married to a wealthy and successful businessman, and everything is great in her life. But when the heroine finds out that she is expecting a child, against the background of stress, she develops a craving for swallowing various inedible objects.

In the film by Carlo Mirabella-Davis, a drama about women's lack of freedom is hidden under the shell of a body-horror. The heroine is so bound by obligations that she begins to harm herself in an attempt to control at least some aspect of her life.

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4. Enemy

Enemy

• Canada, Spain, 2013.
• Thriller, detective.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.9.

• Topics covered in the film: fear of losing your identity.

Adam teaches history in the University. One day his life turns upside down because of watching a movie at the box office. In the movie, the hero discovers the actor, like two peas in a pod, similar to himself. Attempts to figure out where the double came from lead Adam to real madness.

Denis Villeneuve, director of Dune and Blade Runner 2049, has always easily ditched one style for another. In his "Captives" there was a connection with the works of David Fincher, but "The Enemy" is more reminiscent of Lynch's paintings.

The last frame of the picture deserves special attention. This is one of the most eerie and mysterious endings in the history of cinema, which is not only shocking, but also makes you rethink the whole plot.

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5. Ghost story

A ghost story

• USA, 2017.
• Fantasy, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.9.

• Topics covered in the film: loneliness, trauma from the loss of a loved one.

The musician lives with his wife in a small country house. One day the hero dies in a car accident and turns into a ghost. He continues to be invisibly present in reality and watches as his beloved experiences his death.

Director David Lowry ("The Legend of the Green Knight») Shot a meditative movie intended for fans of the arthouse. There are very few words in this film, but there is a five-minute scene where Rooney Mara is eating a pie, as well as a shocking and obscure ending.

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6. Melancholy

Melancholia

• Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, 2011.
• Science fiction, drama.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.2.

• Topics covered in the film: depression, anxiety, fear of the inevitability of death.

Justine marries a loved one, but quickly loses interest in the celebration. Her sister Claire, meanwhile, begins to worry about more frequent reports that the Earth will soon die from a collision with another planet.

The main troublemaker Lars von Trier shot one of the most poetic pictures about the premonition of imminent death. The director managed to plunge the audience into a state of depression, in which he himself was when he got the idea for the film.

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7. With eyes wide shut

Eyes Wide Shut

• USA, UK, 1999.
• Thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 159 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.4.

• Topics covered in the film: family breakdown, problems in a long marital relationship.

Spouses Bill and Alice Harford decide to add a touch of variety to their sex lives. The husband leaves home and, unexpectedly for himself, plunges into a world of dangerous fantasies.

Stanley Kubrick planned to shoot a real married couple in the film. At first he hoped to take on the roles of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, but in the end he settled on Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Soon, the star husband and wife broke up, which gave rise to rumors that filming with Kubrick played an important role in their breakup.

The level of involvement of the actors in the project was really great. And at some point, the boundaries between real relationships and the on-screen life of their characters are completely blurred.

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8. Jacob's ladder

Jacob's Ladder

• USA, 1990.
• Drama, horror, detective.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.5.

• Topics covered in the film: paranoia, hallucinations, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Vietnam War veteran Jacob Singer suffers from excruciating memories and gruesome visions. It seems to him that monsters are chasing him everywhere. Later, the hero learns that his former colleagues suffer from the same hallucinations.

Director Adrian Line ("Lolita," "9 1/2 Weeks") has always done well in erotic dramas. But "Jacob's Ladder" stands apart in his filmography. At first glance, it is simple creepy a story about a war veteran going mad.

But in reality, this picture is much deeper. It is enough to pay attention to the biblical names of the heroes, and the events are immediately revealed differently.

9. Under cover of the night

Nocturnal animals

• USA, 2016.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.5.

• Topics covered in the film: loneliness, trauma from the betrayal of a loved one, shock after divorce.

Gallery owner Susan Morrow is married for the second time, but unhappy in marriage. Suddenly she receives a package from her ex-husband Edward Sheffield. Inside - the manuscript of his book "Under the Cover of Night", written after parting with his wife.

Filmmaker Tom Ford is talented in everything: he became famous primarily as a clothing designer, but at the same time his directorial work receives entirely favorable reviews from critics.

The plot of "Under Cover of Night" is rather confusing - for example, it includes two parallel narratives at once. Viewers will simultaneously have to follow Susan's story and the events of Edward's novel. And these two realities bizarrely intersect and are reflected in each other.

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10. Black Swan

Black swan

• USA, 2020.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.0.

• Topics covered in the film: separation from parents, identity crisis, unhealthy perfectionism.

Diligent and hardworking ballerina Nina Sayers takes the lead role in the forthcoming production of Swan Lake. True, the choreographer Tom Leroy doubts that the artist will be able to embody two main roles at once. At the same time, a daring rival appears in the troupe, who can take away her role from Nina.

Darren Aronofsky's film is intended not so much for those spectators who love ballet, but for those who adore the theme of duality and mind games. This is not only a reflection on the price that one has to pay for perfection, but also the eerie story of an infantile girl slowly going crazy under the yoke of an oppressive mothers.

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