10 Movies That Changed the Way You Look at Dissociative Identity Disorder (Even for Psychiatrists)

Mental health issues have been the subject of many films, but perhaps multiple personality disorder was one of the biggest sources of inspiration for cinema. The correct name for this condition is dissociative identity disorder (PID). It is characterized by the alternation of personalities, each with unique qualities and stories, and emerges as a defense mechanism after trauma.

O awesome.club created a list of 10 iconic films that portray characters who suffer from dissociative identity disorders. If you haven’t seen it yet, prepare the popcorn!

What happens when you want something so hard that you end up disconnecting from yourself? That’s what happens to Nina (Natalie Portman), a talented dancer who has an intense ambition to land the lead role in the production of The Swan Lakean opportunity that will change your life.

The pressure from her mother and the director of the work and the sick rivalry with another dancer make Nina get lost in her own head and confuse the real with the imaginary, putting the viewer in a whirlwind of emotions. A movie that needs to be seen and that gave Natalie the Oscar for Best Actress.

An unmissable movie classic inspired by the book of the same name by Robert Bloch. The story takes place at the Bates Motel. During a rainy night, the foreman, Norman (Anthony Perkins), welcomes a young guest who will change the dynamics of events at the motel.

A disappearance, confusion and a lot of suspense in a film that changed the history of cinema and that curiously went through financing difficulties because the producers did not think the story was good. It is important to highlight the name of the director, one of the greatest in history: Alfred Hitchcock.

The film’s title itself already reveals the presence of a protagonist with at least two personalities. Charlie (Jim Carrey) is a police officer and a loving, devoted father who sees his aggressive alter ego called Hank waking up when he stops taking his medication. The problem is that both fall in love with the same woman and neither is willing to give in. A very fun movie that also talks about the human psyche.

If two personalities inside one body seem like little, what do you think of 23? That’s the amount of people who ‘live’ inside Kevin (James McAvoy), who, even with years of therapy, begins to lose control over himself. One day, one of his dominant personalities kidnaps 3 teenagers as part of a plan for something bigger and more dangerous.

A curious fact is that originally Joaquin Phoenix was going to play Kevin. Due to scheduling problems, James McAvoy took his place. Be sure to watch and think about how the result would have been if the other actor had been in the lead role.

It is impossible not to remember this film when talking about classic cinema. Although the story has already been adapted for the big screen several times, the most emblematic version is from 1920. A century after its release, it remains a masterpiece of horror, even with the few resources that the time offered.

The Doctor. Henry Jekyll (John Barrymore) challenges himself to create a formula that can separate the good and evil nature of man into 2 distinct bodies. However, a miscalculation causes the 2 parts to live in the same body, causing serious problems. Although everything happens through a scientific experiment, the identity problem is clear in the film.

Can a person who commits a crime while possessed by another personality be found guilty? This is the question that moves the film that shows the life of a young man (Edward Norton) accused of murdering an archbishop. His lawyer (Richard Gere) will use dissociative identity disorder as a defense.

The Two Faces of a Crime brings ethical themes and raises many controversies between good and evil and reason and justice. It is at the same time the story of a crime and also a demonstration of how mental health cannot be left in the background.

The film is a biographical drama based on the true story of Shirley Ardell Mason, called in fiction Sybil (Sally Field). It tells of the transformations of a young artist during episodes of memory loss, which take her to unknown places and make her body appear wounds. She decides to look for a psychiatrist who discovers in the young 15 personalities.

The strength of the film went far beyond the art. The work helped to open a discussion in the medical community about dissociative identity disorder and to include it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) from the American Psychiatric Association.

Nothing seems extraordinary in the life of Frankie (Halle Berry), a ballerina who unconsciously begins to show other personalities. It is at this moment that Alice appears, an extremely racist character. The film received much criticism, but acknowledged the great dramatic work of Berry, whose performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 2010.

Eva (Joanne Woodward) is a married woman who is tired of the monotony of housewife life. One day, she starts having lapses in memory loss and her husband decides to seek help from a psychiatrist who discovers the alter ego hidden from Eve. As the story progresses, we see the protagonist fight a third personality who is willing to take over Eva’s body forever, but not without first facing the other two personalities.

The narrator is a young employee of an insurance company (Edward Norton) who, tired of the routine, meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a strange soap salesman who makes him question life and think that self-destruction is the way to go. . Together, they decide to create a fight club that will lead them down dangerous and very revealing paths.

Although the premiere in 1999 was not financially good, today the feature is considered one of the best of the 90s and has become a cult film. Fight Club brings up many topics for discussion.

What did you think of this list? What other movies would you include? Leave your opinion in the comments.