Mental Disability Films I've Watched
A list of every film I've watched that features a main character with a mental disability.
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- DirectorJessie NelsonStarsSean PennMichelle PfeifferDakota FanningAn intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
- DirectorBilly Bob ThorntonStarsBilly Bob ThorntonDwight YoakamJ.T. WalshKarl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioJuliette LewisA young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.
- DirectorDavid DuchovnyStarsDavid DuchovnyTéa LeoniRobin WilliamsBy working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends.
- DirectorMichael TollinStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Ed HarrisDebra WingerThe story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man who he took under his wing.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsJohnny DeppMary Stuart MastersonAidan QuinnA mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsJuliette LewisDiane KeatonGiovanni RibisiA mentally challenged young woman seeks independence by obtaining her own apartment and attending college while her family plans her sister's wedding.
- DirectorBarry W. BlausteinStarsJohnny KnoxvilleKatherine HeiglBrian CoxA young guy's only option to erase a really bad debt is to rig the Special Olympics by posing as a contestant.
- DirectorTyler NilsonMichael SchwartzStarsZack GottsagenAnn PierceDakota JohnsonZak, a man with down syndrome, runs away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a wrestler. Later, he meets with an outlaw who becomes his friend and coach.
- DirectorBrett LeonardStarsJeff FaheyPierce BrosnanJenny WrightA simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
- DirectorTodd PhillipsStarsJoaquin PhoenixRobert De NiroZazie BeetzDuring the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorTimothy HuttonStarsEvan Rachel WoodKevin BaconMary Stuart Masterson10 y.o. Harriet's divorced mom owns and runs a motel. Harriet's an outsider and wants to leave. A woman stays there with her adult, disabled son who befriends Harriet.
- DirectorGary SiniseStarsJohn MalkovichGary SiniseRay WalstonA nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsColin FirthReese WitherspoonAlessandro NivolaThe savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a Satanic ritual.
- DirectorMichael PateStarsPiper LaurieMel GibsonAlwyn KurtsA somewhat mentally handicapped 20-year-old man works as a laborer, but everyone abuses his naiveté. A nice 40-year-old American woman hires him one day and they become close. However, the town and his family see her as predatory.
- DirectorDavid BlairStarsStephen GrahamLee InglebyAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeDavid Blair directs this powerful British Drama, loosely inspired by John Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men'. Set in Nottingham, the film revolves around the relationship between the thuggish Danny (Stephen Graham) and Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a giant of a man with a mental age of seven. When Danny finds himself in debt to a local crime boss, he feels he is left with no choice but to manipulate Joseph into participating in a series of underground cage fights from which Danny can pay his debts. However, as the fights become harder and Danny and Joesph fall for two beautiful women, Danny starts to question his own motives. Ultimately, this is a story of love and friendship and how far you would go for a friend.
- DirectorDamien O'DonnellStarsJames McAvoySteven RobertsonRomola GaraiWhen the kinetic Rory moves into his room in the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, his effect on the home is immediate. Most telling is his friendship with Michael, a young man with cerebral palsy and nearly unintelligible speech. Somehow, Rory understands Michael, and encourages him to experience life outside the confines of home.