11 Best Movies About Psychology That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Movies About Psychology

Everyone who liked psychology may vote for their favorite movie on the All About Psychology Facebook page.

There were over 2,000 votes cast, and the following is a list of the top 10 most popular ideas. Check out the comments at the bottom of the article for more amazing mental movie recommendations!

1. A Beautiful Mind (593 Votes)

A Beautiful Mind

Award-winning director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer collaborated on A Beautiful Mind, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. As talented mathematician John Nash, played by Russell Crowe, the film A Beautiful Mind follows Nash as he stumbles into a secret plot just as he is about to achieve international renown. In this remarkable narrative of courage, passion, and triumph, only his devoted wife (Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly) can assist him

2. The Silence of The Lambs (223 Votes)

Buffalo Bill, a serial killer known as the “Buffalo Bill Killer,” is on a killing spree across the Midwest. The FBI sends Agent Clarice Starling (Foster) to examine a schizophrenic prisoner who may be able to provide clues as to the murderer’s behavior because they believe it takes one to know one. Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins), a brilliant, wicked cannibal, agrees to aid Starling only if she feeds his morbid curiosity with the details of her own convoluted existence. Over time, Starling is forced to deal with her own inner demons as well as an evil so overwhelming that she may not be able to stop it.

3. Shutter Island (194 Votes)

Shutter Island

This seemingly routine investigation rapidly takes a nasty turn when U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives to Shutter Island’s institution for the criminally ill. Teddy discovers that some locations never let you go as the investigation progresses and he uncovers more stunning and horrifying facts about the island.

4. Black Swan (145 Votes)

In this “wicked, psychosexual thriller” (Daily Variety) starring Academy Award winner Natalie Portman and directed by Darren Aronofsky, “you can’t peel your eyes away” (Entertainment Weekly) (The Wrestler). In the role of Nina, a gifted ballerina on the edge of stardom who is also dangerously unstable, Portman gives “the performance of her career,” according to Vanity Fair. When Nina’s creative director (Vincent Cassel) and a sexy rival dancer (Mila Kunis) push her to the breaking point, her precarious grip on reality begins to crack, causing her to fall into a waking nightmare.

5. Fight Club (113 Votes)

Fight Club

When you watch ‘Fight Club,’ you’ll be compelled to confront your prejudices, be shocked, and ultimately be left laughing (Rolling Stone). With Brad Pitt (12 Monkeys), Edward Norton (Primal Fear), and Helena Bonham Carter (Mighty Aphrodite), this action-packed smash is a must-see for moviegoers. When an insomniac (Norton) and a slick soap salesman (Pitt) use primordial male aggressiveness as a therapeutic tool, the results are stunning. Their idea takes off, and “fight clubs” spring up all over the place, until a sensual eccentric (Bonham Carter) gets in the way and sets off a chain reaction that spirals out of control toward irrelevance.

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6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (111 Votes)

Surely a short stay in a state mental hospital is preferable to a long stint in solitary confinement? Con artist Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who is both free-spirited and witty, moves in with a group of people he calls “the crazies” after faking insanity. His infectious sense of disarray immediately collides with the numbing monotony. Guys on sedatives should not be scurrying around in their bathrobes when the World Series is being broadcast. It’s all out war now! McMurphy occupies the other half of the room. Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), one of cinema’s most chillingly horrible villains, is on the other end of the spectrum. Every patient on the ward is on the line. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest won all five main 1975 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Nicholson), Best Actress (Fletcher), Best Director (Milos Forman), and Best Adapted Screenplay (based on Ken Kesey’s popular novel) (Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman). An excellent cast, including Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd in his first film role, propels this one to new heights.

7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (65 Votes)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a film by famed author Charlie Kaufman and creative director Michel Gondry. This witty and heartfelt look at breakups, breakdowns, and breakthroughs has an all-star cast. Upon learning that his ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had their turbulent relationship erased from her memory, Joel (Jim Carrey) is shocked beyond belief. He reaches out to Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), the inventor of the technique, in order to get the same therapy. Joel’s affection for Clementine grows stronger as his memories of her fade. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, and Elijah Wood, has been called “a romantic comedy unlike any other” by the Wall Street Journal.

8. Catch Me if You Can (59 Votes)

It was inspired, in part, by a fascinating true story of a master of deception and the FBI agent on his trail.

9. Good Will Hunting (56 Votes)

Good Will Hunting

It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams, as well as for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, two of the most hotly anticipated newcomers of the year (Best Original Screenplay). At America’s most prestigious university, the brightest minds aren’t students—they’re the kids who mop the floors! When it comes to life’s lessons, Will Hunting (Damon) fails miserably. A psychology professor (Williams) may be the only one who can get to Will after he’s had a few brushes with the authorities. Good Will Hunting is a moving film that will stay with you for a long time.

10. Girl, Interrupted (51 Votes)

An emotional drama based on the memoir of author Susanna Kaysen’s six-month stint in a mental institution during the 1960s with Winona Ryder, Brittany Murphy, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, and Vanessa Redgrave.

11. Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

Check out the films suggested in the comments section at the bottom of the article for more fantastic recommendations on outstanding mental movies. Watch ‘Being John Malkovich,’ which is one of my personal favorites.