Anxiety can take many forms, including generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The recent pandemic and the worry over climate disaster has caused societies to take a closer look at anxiety, and realize that it’s becoming more and more prevalent all the time.
Fortunately for movie buffs, the artistic medium may provide a great deal of comfort to individuals by tackling important issues that are often overlooked, as stigma around mental health can make it extremely difficult for those struggling to find answers or help. It also provides a safe place where one may retreat and realize that a person is not alone in their troubles, as well as assisting others in understanding friends or family members who suffer from anxiety disorders. So, here are some films that perfectly capture what it’s like to have anxiety.
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7 Girl, Interrupted
Columbia Pictures
Girl, Interrupted is a 1999 psychological drama directed by Academy Award nominee James Mangold. Starring the brilliant Winona Ryder and, of course, Angelina Jolie, who was the winner of multiple awards for her spectacular performance, Girl, Interrupted tackles exactly what it’s like to have anxiety.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The film follows a young woman who admits herself into a psychiatric hospital to treat her anxiety and depression, where she is later diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and finds herself a group of women who influence her life as she begins to understand who she really is. The movie is a perfect encapsulation of the insecurities that follow anxiety and how impressionable it can make an individual, along with the panic of fitting in, making friends, and finding a place to belong.
6 Amélie
UGC Fox Distribution
This 2001 romantic comedy, starring Audrey Tautou and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, follows the story of a young woman who suffers from social anxiety, but who is trying to bring happiness to those around her whilst still battling her own isolation. Instead of engaging with people directly, she does it from afar and finds other ways of bringing happiness to people. Not only does Amélie create one of the most lovable characters to grace our screens and a perfect portrayal of the struggle people with social anxiety face, but the film is also a beautiful story of self-discovery, as she learns to grow and become more comfortable with herself.
The movie brings comfort to those who relate to this compassionate character as well as giving the audience a heartfelt, feel-good story with incredible music and visuals; fans can’t help but see the beauty in everything as they become engrossed in the character’s development. Amélie put Audrey Tautou on the international stage, and was also nominated for many awards, and winning a BAFTA for Best Screenplay.
5 Safe
Sony Pictures Classics
Safe is an unusual psychological horror film from 1995, starring Oscar-winner Julianne Moore and directed by the great Todd Haynes, surrounding an extreme case of anxiety disorder. It follows the story of a woman, housewife to a successful businessman, whose anxiety worsens when she believes she’s becoming allergic to nearly everything in industrialized society and is being attacked by invisible pollutants.
This wonderful portrayal of a very severe generalized anxiety allows people to understand how individuals suffering from this disorder can turn a seemingly harmless fact into a much larger and serious issue, as well as being an eyeopening experience into how anxiety can affect the way a person views the world and herself, as well as the panic it can cause. The film has received renewed interest since the Coronavirus pandemic, and is also one of the first and best films to tackle full-on the dangers of environmental pollution, something which justifiably causes mass, collective anxiety (otherwise known as ‘climate dread’).
4 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Summit Entertainment
This 2012 coming-of-age drama has become one of the strongest movies about anxiety disorder in relation to younger generations. It follows Charlie (Logan Lerman) as he writes letters to an unnamed friend about his struggles as an anxious high school teenager. The Perks of Being a Wallflower deals with serious topics like depression and suicide, as we see when Charlie is released from a mental institution after suffering from clinical depression after the death of his friend. Charlie ends up finding siblings Patrick (Ezra Miller) and Sam (Emma Watson) who consider themselves as “outsiders” at school, and these three teens steal viewers hearts as they develop a beautiful friendship.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on the popular novel, successfully portrays the harsh reality and struggles of mental health, fitting in, making friends, and dealing with trauma, which many people may relate to. Ultimately, it is a beautiful story of the quest for belonging and finding friendship, and represents exactly what it’s like for teens to navigate the highs and lows of adolescence.
3 Eighth Grade
A24
Comedian Bo Burnham made his directorial debut with coming-of-age film Eighth Grade. While it may encompass typical coming-of-age factors like school parties and awkward conversations with parents, the film actually tackles more deep and serious issues, exploring something that many teenagers in school find themselves wrapped up in: anxiety, especially as it relates to technology and the internet. It follows the life of thirteen-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher), whose father tries to form a deeper connection with his daughter as she obsessively scrolls through social media at the dinner table. As she approaches the end of middle school, she tries to gain acceptance from her peers at school and copes by posting self-help videos on how to overcome self-esteem and confidence issues, though she realizes that her own life consists of dread and a lot of anxiety.
The movie may attract many teenagers falling into anxious thoughts and feelings, as well as being a great teaching tool for adults who see it in their own children or even themselves. Eighth Grade is an important film about what social media does to young people (a topic Burnham has feverishly explored) and may bring comfort and even a slight sense of closure to anyone suffering with anxiety.
2 Black Swan
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Natalie Portman perfectly portrays ballet dancer Nina Sayers, who’s battling psychological illness as she stars in a production of Swan Lake, in the psychological horror masterpiece Black Swan. After successfully being given the role of the White Swan, the audience follow her deterioration, both physically and mentally. Nina endures injuries as her stress, anxiety, and pressures of the roles advance, though it is difficult to tell what is real and what is not. Eventually, she suffers a psychotic break, hallucinations, and the disturbing metamorphoses of herself and others, all stemming from her anxiety. As the movie progresses, the line between reality and hallucinations blur, resulting in a shocking climactic finale in which she fully embodies the Black Swan persona.
Black Swan tells a dark and compelling story of anxiety, alongside psychosis, with fantastic acting. It perfectly captures the struggle of anxiety-induced injury and failing mental health, especially in relation to the pressures that ballet dancers (and all performers) undergo. Director Darren Aronofsky intertwines Swan Lake and psychodrama in a way which can not be described as anything less than magnificent. Portman went on to win multiple Awards for her performance, including an Academy Award for Best Actress.
1 Punch-Drunk Love
Sony Pictures Releasing
Punch-Drunk Love won Adam Sandler his first and only Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and should’ve won him a lot more. It is the story of the blossoming romance between two socially anxious characters, Barry and Lena. As some may know, social anxiety can make us feel nervous about any social situation, even if it’s just with family, and when Barry’s sisters convince him to go to a party (with the hopes of setting him up with a girl), he becomes extremely anxious. After spending time together, though, Barry and Lena fall in love in a way totally specific to them, and she gives him courage to confront his problems.
Ultimately, what is beautiful about Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love is that it doesn’t demand that their love be burdensome, nor that their problems should be fixed, or his anxiety disappear, which would be unrealistic. Instead, the unique couple work together in perfect harmony and flourish just how they are. This is both a hopeful and realistic depiction of anxiety in a beautifully surreal, brilliantly acted film.
