Stir Crazy? These Films Remind Us That Were Not Alone

Cabin fever, stir-crazy, climbing the walls. We’ve heard these terms all our lives, but suddenly in the age of coronavirus, they have deeper resonance.

We also have a newfound appreciation of movies about people losing their grip. In the past, it’s been entertaining to watch these characters, but the fun is diminished when it hits closer to home.

Here are 10 films in which you can compare yourself to the protagonist.

Insanity: Who wore it better?

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
DIRECTOR, John Frankenheimer; SCRIPT, George Axelrod, from novel by Richard Condon. STARS, Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury
The black-comedy thriller was marketed with the slogan: “If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won’t know what it’s all about!” Here’s what it’s about: brainwashing, conspiracy theories, communist plots and suspicion of the U.S. government.
Sound familiar? A tip of the hat to the makers of this and all the other cited films, for creating such accurate depictions of our life today.
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
WRITER-DIRECTOR, David Lynch; STARS, Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring
When “Mulholland Dr.” debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety said that after an hour and 45 minutes of relative coherence, the film makes a “sudden switcheroo to a form of alternate reality with no apparent meaning or logical connection to what came before.” In other words, it’s a total metaphor for 2020.
Repulsion (1965)
DIRECTOR, Roman Polanski; SCRIPT, Polanski, Gerard Brach, David Stone; STARS, Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry This is a cautionary tale for everyone.
Carol (Catherine Deneuve) seems a little odd, but she totally snaps when left alone for too long. This is the first of Roman Polanski’s so-called Apartment Trilogy, which also includes “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Tenant.” The moral of the stories: Don’t trust your neighbors, and apparently you can’t even trust yourself.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
DIRECTOR, Robert Wiene; SCRIPT, Carl Mayer, Hans Janowitz; STARS, Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt
It’s open to debate who the craziest person here is. There is Dr. Caligari, a sideshow barker who hypnotizes Cesare to commit murders. Or there’s Cesare himself. And then there’s Francis, narrator of the story. When it’s revealed that Caligari is actually the director of an asylum, you assume he’s the sane one, but then you remember Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew, and you quickly switch your opinion.
Gaslight (1944)
DIRECTOR, George Cukor; SCRIPT, John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, John L. Balderston from the play by Patrick Hamilton; STARS, Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman
This is the perfect film for our time. In Edwardian England, Gregory (Charles Boyer) tries to drive his wife (Ingrid Bergman) insane by “proving” that her memories and perceptions are wrong.
She feels there is no one she can turn to, nobody she can trust. In 2020, we are being told that we’ve been washing our hands incorrectly for our entire lives, that toilet paper is a precious commodity and that the president was always on top of this pandemic, dismissing our memories of him saying on Feb. 26 that the U.S. rate of infection “within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.” We are living with a new reality, but Bergman was here first.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
DIRECTOR, Peter Jackson; SCRIPT, Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, from the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. STARS, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Serkis
J.R.R. Tolkien’s great books were made into great films, well worth rewatching during your isolation. Many characters long for the Ring, driving them into a frenzy: Exhibit A: Gollum. Some people will do anything to get the Ring, aka “my precious.” It can be seen as a symbolic desire for political power, for wealth or for something as simple and unattainable as Clorox Wipes.
Shutter Island (2010)
DIRECTOR, Martin Scorsese; SCRIPT, Laeta Kalogridis, based on novel by Dennis Lehane; STARS, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
Here’s another film where you wonder about the sanity of the doctor running an asylum. It’s also one of several movies (“Inception,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Fight Club”) where you’re not sure who’s good or who’s evil, who’s real and who’s imagined. No jokes about this film — it’s one of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s best.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
WRITER-DIRECTOR, John Cassavetes; STARS, Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk
Mabel (Gena Rowlands) is having trouble coping with reality; her husband, their friends and her parents clearly have been ignoring the trouble signs for too long. People who feel skittish about prolonged self-isolation can relate to her, and they will be cheered by the film’s underlying message: You might be losing your grip, but with any luck, nobody will notice.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
WRITER-DIRECTOR, Pedro Almódovar; STARS, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas
Pedro Almódovar’s dark screwball comedy is guaranteed to entertain you, but it will either make you feel better or feel worse. Comforting factor: Each new character is crazier than the last, so you realize you’re not alone. Troubling factor: the sneaking suspicion that maybe your agony is more hilarious than you realize.

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Update: 2024-09-05