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- Black Swan
- Fox Searchlight Pictures
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- Possession
- Limelight International
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- A Dangerous Method
- Sony Pictures Classics
Female hysteria was once a catchall term for any behavior that was not considered proper conduct for women in polite society. Deriving from the word "hystera," which means "uterus," hysteria was once applied only to “female madness.” Any woman or young lady who didn't conform to the norm or suffered from any physical or mental medical issues was slapped with this label, and possibly doomed to some horrific fate, be it an asylum, unnecessary medical procedures, or isolated in a tacky room decked out in yellow wallpaper.
In film, the "madwoman" trope has evolved to become many things. Sometimes, the term applies who a woman in the midst of a mental breakdown or psychosis, but other times, it's applied to women by those around her as a means of control. While it's an uncomfortable subject, these are the best female hysteria movies that did the best job executing on the trope.
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Lisa Rowe, a patient at Claymoore Psychiatric Hospital and a sociopath with destructive tendencies.
What Is The Plot? In 1967, writer Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder) has a nervous breakdown and is sent to Claymoore Psychiatric Hospital by her parents after an attempt on her own life. While there, she makes friends with a few of the fellow inmates, including sociopath Lisa (Angelina Jolie), who is both captivating and hellbent on derailing her therapy (along with everyone else's).
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After Susanna and Lisa take leave of the hospital on their own little road trip, they visit former inmate Daisy (Brittany Murphy), hoping to crash with her in her apartment. While there, Lisa mocks Daisy's incestuous sexual abuse at the hands of her father, causing the young woman to take her own life in the bathroom.
The catalyst event causes a rift between Susanna and Lisa, as Susanna is shocked to her core, destroyed by what they have done, while Lisa is unmoved. Instead of mourning their friend or being horrified by their actions, Lisa looks for cash. Realizing that she wishes to become better before she becomes Lisa, Susanna willingly returns to the hospital.
- Actors: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea Duvall, Brittany Murphy, Elisabeth Moss
- Released: 1999
- Directed by: James Mangold
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Rosemary Woodhouse, a young pregnant woman who believes something is amiss with her husband Guy, her neighbors, her doctor, and her pregnancy, but no one will believe her.
What Is The Plot? Young Rosemaryv (Mia Farrow) and her actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move into the Bramford Building, where strange happenings begin to plague the young wife, though Guy seems to have a string of good luck at the hands of others' misfortunes. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, she is fearful of her new "friends" when they seem to dismiss her anxieties.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: Rosemary is never mad, but rather the victim of classic gaslighting because all those who surround her are satanists who use her as a vessel to carry the spawn of Satan. Guy allowes the Devil to impregnate his wife in exchange for fame and fortune.
The horror in which Rosemary meets her child for the first time is an iconic moment in cinematic history. The wide-eyed shock and revulsion from the thing that is her child is immediately apparent. Rosemary looks at her friends, family, and neighbors who have gathered in the room and screams, "What have you done to its eyes?!?"
The answer is not a thing, as the child has his father's eyes. His real father's eyes. Rosemary goes into shock as the gathering rejoices as the birth of the Antichrist. In the sad, brutal final moments of the film, a defeated Rosemary accepts her fate as the mother of the son of Satan, and begins rocking the cradle while soothing the child with a gentle look.
- Actors: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans
- Released: 1968
- Directed by: Roman Polanski
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Cecilia "Cee" Kass, an architect who can't seem to escape her controlling ex, Adrian Griffin.
What Is The Plot? After Cecilia's (Elisabeth Moss) abusive mad scientist ex-boyfriend takes his own life, she begins to experience one terrifying event after another, including the feeling of being stalked. She believes Adrian is still alive, and after an unknown force continues to harasses her, she becomes convinced that somehow Adrian is following her every move. She is blamed for horrible events and accidents she didn't cause, even murder. And no one will believe her.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After weeks of being made to think she is insane, tormented by unseen forces, and not believed, Celia discovers that Adrian faked his death and used a high-tech invisibility suit to stalk and harass her.
A pregnant Cecilia decides to sit with her ex to talk about their possible future so all the torture can stop. After coming to a resolve, she goes into the next room. Suddenly, Adrian takes a knife to his own throat and takes his life.
Cecilia calls 911, but out of sight of the security cameras, it becomes clear she used one of his invisibility suits to force his hand and get her revenge. As she sits out of frame, Cecilia revels in her revenge. After weeks of gaslighting, torture, hospitals, and arrests, this is when Cecilia has her moment. She smiles as Adrian bleeds out as she realizes what she has done. She whispers to him the same text he sent her during all of his little schemes, “Surprise.” Adrian dies knowing Cecilia got the better of him.
- Actors: Elisabeth Moss, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer
- Released: 2020
- Directed by: Leigh Whannell
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Nina Sayers, a dancer who will do anything to reach perfection in the role of the Black Swan.
What Is The Plot? Nina (Natalie Portman) is a dancer in the New York City Ballet who is about to dance her first lead with her company, but as she gets closer to opening night, her mental state begins to deteriorate because it seems someone or something is set on destroying her debut.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: Throughout the film, Nina has an issue embodying Odile the Black Swan as she fights a force within her threatening to take over her very being. During her performance, she can no longer keep the change at bay as the other identity takes over and she morphs into the Black Swan. During her performance on stage, Nina grows large black wings as she dances her solo, transforming into the swan in front of the audience. Her delusion allows her to become the Black Swan as she gives the performance of a lifetime.
- Actors: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
- Released: 2010
- Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Frances Farmer, a famous actress from the '30s and '40s who is involuntary committed by her parents.
What Is The Plot? Frances is the biopic of the Hollywood actress whose unconventional attitudes toward fame, free spirit, and her addictions allow her overbearing and dominating mother to institutionalize her against her will as a means to control her.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: While involuntarily committed to Western State Hospital, Frances (Jessica Lange) is horrifically abused by the staff and the doctors. Subjected to many rounds of shock therapy and beaten, she is also periodically abused by orderlies, who "loan" her out to visiting soldiers for a price.
The horror of the moment reaches a pinnacle when the near comatose actress is covered in bruises and lying on a gurney, about to get a lobotomy. Used as an example on how to administer a cranial lobotomy, a "doctor" coldly explains the "ice pick technique" on Frances as she lies motionless, unable to do anything to stop the terrifying situation.
(It should be noted that over the years, the story of Frances Farmer's lobotomy has been debunked by friends and family.)
- Actors: Jessica Lange, Kim Stanley, Sam Shepard, Bart Burns, Jonathan Banks
- Released: 1982
- Directed by: Graeme Clifford
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Dani, a young woman who loses her family in a tragedy and attempts to put it behind her by going on holiday to Sweden with her boyfriend
What Is The Plot? After Dani's (Florence Pugh) mentally ill sister kills their parents and takes her own life, Dani decides to join her emotionally distant boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) and his friends on holiday to a midsummer festival in rural Sweden. It takes place at a commune called the Hårga, and the strange customs and ceremonies begin to affect Dani's mental health as the community takes a keen interest in the grieving young women and her friends.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After Dani is proclaimed the May Queen, she attempts to find Christian while inebriated on hallucinogens. She unfortunately walks in while his body is being manipulated by the cult to mate with a young woman against his will. Unable to understand the situation, Dani perceives it as cheating, and immediately feels anguish. As she collapses in a cabin, the woman of the cult surround her and being mimicking her cries in an attempt to share her pain and help her through the moment. Together, the woman of the Hårga scream and cry along with Dani. This is how they show Dani she is no longer alone.
- Actors: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Ari Aster
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Cathy Holly, a young, beautiful woman who is institutionalized by her Aunt Vi after a mysterious event during a summer vacation.
What Is The Plot? After an incident during a summer holiday in the south of Europe, a young woman named Cathy (Elizabeth Taylor) experiences a traumatic event that ends the life of her cousin Sebastian. Her Aunt Vi (Katherine Hepburn) insists she is deranged, dangerous, and somehow the cause of her son Sebastian's death, causing the wealthy woman to demand that her niece have a lobotomy. The wealthy woman even intends to bribe the hospital with a new wing if they promise to cut into her niece's brain. Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) becomes invested in the case and investigates the story, determined to get to the truth of the matter.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: Cathy represses the memory of Sebastian's death, which his mother wants to hide with a lobotomy before the truth gets out. Sebastian was using the attractive Cathy as bait for young boys, whom he would lure to his hotel for insidious reasons. After weeks of using Cathy as a carrot to draw young boys and men to his trap, they had their revenge. On their final day, a group of young boys begging for money pursued Sebastian through the alleyways and cornered him, separating him from Cathy. They swarmed him, and in front of Cathy, ripped him apart with their bare hands. It is implied they even devoured him.
The memory of the moment is so traumatic that Cathy buries it in her subconscious, and it almost drives her mad.
- Actors: Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Katharine Hepburn, Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge
- Released: 1959
- Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Sabina Spielrein, a Russian woman who suffers hysteria and becomes a patient of Dr. Carl Jung, but when cured, becomes a student, then colleague, of the doctor.
What Is The Plot? The film is based on the true story of psychoanalyst Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and his patient (and later colleague) Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). Sabina is admitted after she has a nervous breakdown, causing her to suffer from tics and spasms. While being treated by Jung, the two develop an unconventional and unprofessional sexual relationship before she begins her own studies to become a psychoanalyst.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: Attempting to make things right, Dr. Jung breaks up with Sabina, saying they can only have a patient and doctor relationship going forward, despite their feelings for each other. Angry and distraught, Sabina is confused, wondering if Carl still loves her. He refuses to comment on anything except that he can only interact with her "as a physician," refusing to acknowledge his feelings. In her anger and frustration, she picks up a letter opener and stabs him, slashing him across he face. She then gives him 20 francs for his time.
- Actors: Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Gadon, Vincent Cassel
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: David Cronenberg
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Mother, a gentle, caring figure who supports and loves The Poet, despite what he does.
What Is The Plot? Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) is the wife and muse of a Poet (Javier Bardem). She painstakingly renovates their house while supporting her husband, a man who keeps putting the needs and wants of strangers and supporters ahead of her mental and physical well-being, even after she becomes pregnant. A metaphor for religion and the earth, Mother is said to represent the destruction of Mother Earth at the hands of humanity, whose death and destruction occurs while her partner, possibly God, does nothing to intervene.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: In the darkest and most controversial moment of the film, her husband gives her newborn to a crowd of his fans, who accidentally kill the child, then consume the flesh. She goes mad from the act, lashing out at the masses who attack and beat Mother in retaliation. The Poet begs Mother to forgive them, but instead, she uses the furnace to incinerate the people, the house, and herself, destroying all she has built. With her dying breath, she rips out her heart and gives it to the Poet so he can start again, creating a new mother from it to start the cycle again.
- Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson
- Released: 2017
- Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Manic depressive Justine, who falls into a deeper and deeper depression as she is forced into a life she does not want.
What Is The Plot? In Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic story about two sisters, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) is viewed as creative and unstable while her older sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is seen as normal and reliable. In the first half of the film, audiences watch as Justine cheats on her husband and quits her job at her own wedding reception. In the second half of the film, when the Earth is threatened by an asteroid named Melancholia, Justine becomes a calming force, uniting her family in their final moments as she accepts their fate.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: When Justine begins the second half the film, she is almost catatonic from depression, unable to eat, dress herself, or bathe. But by the end of the film, when Melancholia hits the Earth, she is the strength that unites her family so they can all be together. She is able to use the cataclysmic event to center herself and concentrate on what matters most: her family. Her illness allows her to accept her fate and help those she loves accept their demise. There is nothing they can do but love each other the best they can in their last moments on Earth.
- Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgård, Brady Corbet, Cameron Spurr
- Released: 2011
- Directed by: Lars von Trier
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Anna, a mother and wife who goes through a disturbing metamorphosis while her husband is away on assignment.
What Is The Plot? Mark (Sam Neill) is a former spy who returns home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) somewhat altered. Neglectful of her son and bizarre in her behavior in general, she demands a divorce and leaves her husband, only to become more and more deranged in her behavior. It is soon discovered that Anna is keeping a hidden apartment in which she is harboring a deep, dark secret that is consuming her sanity.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After a miscarriage, Anna suffered a mental breakdown that may have manifested into a tentacled creature formed from her psychosis. The creature feeds on madness and human suffering, as well as sexuality, causing Anna to have relations with it.
In what is considered one of the film's most disturbing scenes, after the murder of Anna's friend Margie, Mark finds Anna having sexual relations with the creature, which could be a metaphor about how mental illness can penetrate every aspect of a person's life and corrupt it.
- Actors: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer
- Released: 1981
- Directed by: Andrzej Żuławski
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Pearl, a repressed Texas farm girl whose dreams of fame and fortune have been ravaged by reality.
What Is The Plot? More than anything on this earth, Pearl (Mia Goth) wants to be a star, but with her husband away at war, her invalid father requiring constant care, and her overbearing mother constantly destroying her dreams of grandeur, every day becomes a little harder to handle. With each passing day, Pearl's dreams seem a little further way. And her sanity slips, too.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: In a nine-minute monologue after a failed audition for a dancing troupe, Pearl shows her true self... and it is terrifying. Pretending to speak to her husband Howard, she talks of how much she hates him for leaving her on the farm, how she isn't a good person, how easy it is for her to kill people, and how she will do her best from now on to love Howard the way he deserves.
As she finishes, her sister-in-law looks horrified, realizing her life is in danger.
- Actors: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro
- Released: 2022
- Directed by: Ti West
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Who Was Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Carole Ledoux, a manicurist in London whose androphobia begins to manifest in terrifying and bizarre ways.
What Is The Plot? Carol (Catherine Deneuve) is an introvert who is deathly afraid of men, and particularly disturbed by her sister's relationship with a married man named Michael. As her phobia worsens, she experiences hallucinations and delusions that threaten her already fragile mindset.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After she rejects the advances of an unwanted admirer, Colin, he breaks into her apartment to attack Carol and she kills him in self-defense. Or so she believes. Following that scene, she walks down her hallway and believes unseen forces are around her, set to lunge and destroy her at any given moment. As she walks down a dark hallway, hands emerge from the walls, grabbing and molesting her as she tries to escape.
- Actors: Catherine Deneuve, Yvonne Furneaux, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Roman Polanski
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Maud, a devout Catholic suffers from a crisis of faith while working as a nurse.
What Is The Plot? Former party girl turned religious zealot Maud (Morfydd Clark) is working as a hospice nurse for former dancer Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), who is dying from lymphoma. However, all attempts to "save" Amanda have been rebuked with anger and sarcasm. As Maud becomes more and more disassociated, she becomes desperate in her attempts to serve God and save Amanda's soul.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: After Maud murders Amanda for mocking her faith, she decides to martyr herself in public to prove she is God's messenger on Earth. She goes to a beach and douses herself in a flammable substance as she states in Welsh, “Glory be to God.” As she self-immolates, she sprouts angel wings and glows in heavenly grace as onlookers bow before her.
Or so she pictures it in her fractured mind. In actuality, she screams in agony as she burns to death in front of horrified beachgoers.
- Actors: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Fraser, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton
- Released: 2019
- Directed by: Rose Glass
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Most Memorable "Madwoman"? Eve White, a shy and timid wife and mother who suffers from multiple personalities (as it is called in the film).
What Is The Plot? While under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Luther, housewife Eve White is discovered to have two additional personalities: girl Eva Black and the seemingly normal Jane. The good doctor attempts to merge the three personalities into one functioning personality.
Most Poignant Moment of Madness: The doctor believes both Eves are actually incomplete personas while Jane is the true personality that was buried. Dr. Luther discovers that "Eve's" personalities split after her grandmother died and her mother forced her to kiss the corpse at the funeral. The trauma of the event caused her mind to split.
- Actors: Joanne Woodward, Lee J. Cobb, David Wayne, Edwin Jerome, Alena Murray
- Released: 1957
- Directed by: Nunnally Johnson
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