Psychological drama

Psychological drama, occasionally known as dark drama^[1] or was related to psychodrama,^[2] is a sub-genre of drama that places emphasis on psychological elements.^[3] It often overlaps with other genres such as psychological thrillers, horror, fantasy, black comedy, and science fiction; psychological dramas use these genres tropes to focus on the human condition and psychological effects, usually in a mature and serious tone. Psychological dramas explores thematic elements such as abandonment, coming-of-age problems, denialism, distorted sequences, dysfunctional relationships, human sexuality, mental disorders, mood swings, odd behaviors, psychological abuse, social issues, and other serious discussions that everyone learns who deals psychological themes in reality.

Known filmmakers[]

• Paul Thomas Anderson - An American filmmaker known for his depictions of flawed characters and exploration of subjects and themes such as dysfunctional families, alienation, loneliness and redemption. Known psychological dramas of his include Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007),^[4] and The Master (2012).^[5]
• Hideaki Anno - A Japanese filmmaker whose best known work, Neon Genesis Evangelion, delved into heavy psychological themes in its latter half.^[6]
• Darren Aronofsky - An American filmmaker, well known for directing some of the most notoriously visceral psychological dramas in the 21st century, such as the cult classic film, Requiem for a Dream (2000),^[7] and others that deal with melodramatic themes and surrealism in films such as Black Swan (2010) and Mother! (2017).^[8]
• Ingmar Bergman - A Swedish filmmaker, regarded by many one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, who applied his creative and avant-garde vision^[9] to psychological drama films such as Persona (1966).^[10]
• Bernardo Bertolucci - An Italian filmmaker, who is known for exploring "sexual relations among characters stuck in a psychological crisis" such as in his erotic film Last Tango in Paris.^[11]
• Sofia Coppola - An American filmmaker, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, known for psychological drama films such as The Virgin Suicides (1999)^[12] and Lost in Translation (2003).^[13]
• Alejandro González Iñárritu - A Mexican filmmaker known as "The Three Amigos of Cinema", who has directed numerous films that focus on aspects of the human condition, notably The Death trilogy, Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006)^[14]
• Charlie Kaufman - An American director and screenwriter, who explored universal themes like identity crisis, mortality, and the meaning of life through a metaphysical or parapsychological framework, as shown in films like his directorial works, Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Anomalisa (2015).^[15][16]
• Krzysztof Kieślowski - A Polish filmmaker, known for his psychological drama films such as the Three Colours trilogy.^[17]
• Akira Kurosawa - A Japanese filmmaker, considered among the greatest directors of all time, who directed psychological dramas such as Drunken Angel (1948)^[18][19] and Ikiru (1952).^[20]
• Yorgos Lanthimos - A Greek filmmaker known for his themes about absurdity, animal cruelty, odd behaviors, dark humors, and unrequited relationships.^[21]
• Tom McCarthy - An American filmmaker and actor, well known for his critically acclaimed independent films The Station Agent (2003) and The Visitor (2007).^[22]
• Brillante Mendoza - A Filipino filmmaker, known for his independent psychological drama films like The Masseur (2005), Kinatay (2009) and Captive (2012).^[23]
• Steven Soderbergh - An American filmmaker, well known for his independent films featuring explorations of the human condition, such as in his critically acclaimed debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).^[24]
• Andrei Tarkovsky - A Russian filmmaker, known for his philosophical and psychological movies dealing with existence, faith and dreamlike memories, such as Solaris (1972), Mirror (1975) and Stalker (1979).^[25]
• Denis Villeneuve - A French Canadian filmmaker, primarily known for directing drama and science fiction films featuring psychological elements^[26] such as Maelstrom (2000),^[27] Enemy (2013)^[28] and Arrival (2016).^[29]

Notable examples[]

Films[]

Early examples[]

The earliest examples of a psychological drama film are The Whispering Chorus (1918)^[30][31] and Greed (1924).^[32][33] Other early examples of popular psychological drama films include:

• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)^[34]
• Death of a Salesman (1951)^[35]
• Johnny Belinda (1948)^[36]
• A Place in the Sun (1951)^[37]
• The Snake Pit (1948)^[38]
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)^[39]

Modern examples[]

• 1960s - Lolita (1962)^[40]
• 1970s - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975),^[41] Taxi Driver (1976),^[42] Equus (1977)^[43]
• 1980s - Ordinary People,^[44] The Ninth Configuration (both 1980),^[45] Pink Floyd - The Wall,^[46][47] Sophie's Choice (both 1982)^[48][49]
• 1990s - Heavenly Creatures (1994),^[50][51] Shine (1996),^[52] Good Will Hunting (1997),^[53] The Truman Show (1998),^[54] Eyes Wide Shut,^[55][56] Fight Club (both 1999)^[57]
• 2000s - The Hours (2002),^[58] Elephant,^[48][59] Harvie Krumpet (both 2003),^[60][61] Little Children (2006),^[48][62] Funny People,^[63] Mary and Max (both 2009)^[64][65]
• 2010s - Shame,^[66] Sucker Punch (both 2011),^[67] Aparisyon (2012),^[68] When Marnie Was There,^[69] Whiplash (both 2014),^[70][48] All I See Is You (2016)^[71]
• 2020s - Horse Girl (2020),^[72] Nitram,^[73] Spencer,^[74] The Power of the Dog,^[75][76][77] Don't Look Up (four in 2021)^[78]

Television[]

• The Affair^[79]
• Bates Motel^[80]
• Criminal^[81]
• Bojack Horseman - an adult animated tragicomedy series depicts darker psychological themes for its realistic take on depression, trauma, addiction, self-destructive behavior, racism, sexism, sexuality, and the human condition.^[82]
• The Cry^[83]
• A Death in California^[84]
• The Handmaid's Tale^[1]
• Maniac^[85]
• Ray Donovan^[86]
• This Is Us^[1]
• Yellowjackets^[87]

Video games[]

• To the Moon (2011) - an independent video game that is considered to be a psychological drama.^[88] It was inspired by Kan Gao's grandfather's condition^[89] and the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.^[90][91][92]
• Irrational (2019) - a psychological drama story-driven game made in RPG Maker MV. The story focuses on Lucy, a young woman struggles of living with generalized anxiety.^[93]
• Rainswept (2019) - an adventure and murder mystery game about an emotional story set in an immersive and atmospheric game world dealing with themes of love, relationships and unresolved trauma.^[94]
• Memories Of East Coast (2021) - A debut game of an immersive visual novel experience that brings you on a journey through memory, nostalgia and guilt.^[95]
• Project Love and Cafe (2022) - Another debut game characterized its narrative themes such as friendship, dysfunctional relationship, love, hate, self-harm and suicide.

Anime and manga[]

• A Silent Voice^[96]
• Akagi^[97]
• Chicago^[98]
• The Flowers of Evil^[99]
• Himizu^[100]
• Neon Genesis Evangelion^[101]
• Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai^[102]
• Scum's Wish^[103][104]
• The Tatami Galaxy^[105]
• Welcome to the N.H.K.^[106]
• Wonder Egg Priority^[107]

Others[]

• Literature - The Winter Wives (2021)^[108][109]
• Novel - Saint X^[110]
• Theater play - The Chinese Lady^[111]

References[]