Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
After I have watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I have been looking for movies with a main/secondary character/s that faced the same emotional/psychological state as Roy Neary (lead character from the Close Encounters of the Third Kind). I like the way he slowly became obsessed in uncontrollable manner that it has affected his relationship with his family. He's been acting crazy all the time. He felt depressed because he can't exactly explain what his doing/seeing. The fact that he isn't actually crazy makes it (for me) more interesting.
So guys, do you know any movie with such character? |
Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
One Hour Photo, though I don't think it's exactly what you're after, might be worth a look.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Zodiac was the first one that I thought of.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
The Pledge (Sean Penn)
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Originally Posted by Iroquois (Post 1384115)
Zodiac was the first one that I thought of.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Originally Posted by The Rodent (Post 1384114)
One Hour Photo, though I don't think it's exactly what you're after, might be worth a look.
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Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight (2008), though his reason to hate Batman and Gordon for what happened is understandable. If there's a character reversal that bugged me was Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro. He literally turned from obsessive, paranoid Spidey fanatic, to villainous foe in a blink of an eye.
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Originally Posted by Diogo Mendes (Post 1386552)
Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight (2008), though his reason to hate Batman and Gordon for what happened is understandable. If there's a character reversal that bugged me was Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro. He literally turned from obsessive, paranoid Spidey fanatic, to villainous foe in a blink of an eye.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Not sure if I remember correctly, but didn't Kevin Spacey's character in American Beauty have a gradual change toward obsession via a mid-life crisis and growing infatuation?
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Both versions of The Fly are about a scientist driven by obsession and then driven to madness, as well as physical mutation, as the result of his own experiments. (This is a rather common theme in a lot of older Sci-Fi & Horror movies. The same could be applied to The Invisible Man or Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde.)
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Jacob's Ladder - this movie is just a head trip. Can't really explain it without giving away the ending, but the main character seems to either be going mad (or something else) and desperately seeks to find out why.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance) in The Shining is the OBVIOUS answer for this question.
One of the best performance of all-time. |
Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Glorious 39 - not sure if this fits, but in this case the main character is female. Living in England in 1939, just prior to WWII, Anne is a young woman from an affluent family who begins to discover secrets about her family's involvement in a secret society of Nazi sympathizers (as there were some strong Nazi capitulation forces in Great Britain at that time). Her family (through various & nefarious means) begin to convince her that she's sick & going insane, and thus anything she's unearthed is not real (they try to convince her that they are patriotic Britishers while she is the one who's losing her mind). She's locked up by her own family as she struggles for freedom and to discover the truth.
Interesting thriller for those interested in WWII era history. |
Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Originally Posted by Captain Steel (Post 1386686)
Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.
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Originally Posted by Gideon58 (Post 1386729)
The only reason John Denver's Jerry appears to be going insane is because God (George Burns) forces him to do a lot of crazy things and when an explanation is required, God doesn't have Jerry's back at all, literally hanging him out to dry. Even when Jerry's sanity is brought into question, God still doesn't come forward and explain that he forced Jerry to do all the things that he does and offers Jerry no way to prove it. So, for me, Jerry's character really doesn't fit this thread.
We could argue that, in a similar way, the "Roy" character in Close Encounters was driven to his seeming craziness by the influence of powerful aliens who may have been imbuing him with new instincts & obsessive compulsions. Yet Roy is the model for this thread. So I contend that just because Jerry's influence was God and not aliens (although some argue they are one and the same) his compulsions appeared no less obsessive to everyone around him. :) The big difference is in the film presentation - with Roy, his actions are a mystery up until the end of the film, while with Jerry we're introduced to his outside influence quickly. Also, Roy didn't understand what was driving him, while Jerry did (although, at times early on, he questioned whether it was actually really happening). |
Originally Posted by Derek Vinyard (Post 1386690)
Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance) in The Shining is the OBVIOUS answer for this question.
One of the best performance of all-time. |
Originally Posted by Captain Steel (Post 1386686)
Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
Alec Guiness in Bridge on the River Kwai?
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Originally Posted by AMHmovie (Post 1387075)
I'll try this. Thanks
Also, you might want to look into movies about Vincent Van Gogh (there's a few, but the best known is Kirk Douglas's Lust For Life). They are sad testimonies to the real life artist who was a creative genius and had an obsession to do good in the world, but who, through great passions, tumultuous friendships, broken hearts (and possibly even lead poisoning from licking paint brushes) gradually went insane. |
Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
You could check out Field of Dreams.
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Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
This probably doesn't fit the model that AMHmovie was looking for, but this thread reminded me of the movie Falling Down (1993) where Michael Douglas plays a man who completely unravels over the course of the film. It's tragic because, on some level, most of us can relate to the many little things that frustrate the character and help lead to his ultimate breakdown (of course there's a little more to it than hamburgers not looking like they do in the photos at fast food restaurants or the price of a soda).
Douglas' character becomes obsessed with simply "going home,", but encounters problems along the way. |
Taxi Driver
Scarface (well, sorta at the end guy is TOTALLY out of his mind) The Believer The Abyss M Fatal Attraction (maybe) MaCbeth (1971, Polanski) 2001:A Space Odyssey A Woman Under the Influence The Deer Hunter (Walken character) Aguirre:Wrath of God The Machinist Black Swan (bad copy of Repulsion) Pi Vertigo Repulsion |
Originally Posted by luf (Post 1390572)
Taxi Driver
Scarface (well, sorta at the end guy is TOTALLY out of his mind) The Believer The Abyss M Fatal Attraction (maybe) MaCbeth (1971, Polanski) 2001:A Space Odyssey A Woman Under the Influence The Deer Hunter (Walken character) Aguirre:Wrath of God The Machinist Black Swan (bad copy of Repulsion) Pi Vertigo Repulsion Haven't seen several of these, but The Machinist is another good one that fits the bill... (but in a very dark way). |
Re: Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy
A very obvious character, though I didn't see him above, Frodo. He becomes obsessed with the One Ring because it controls him. We can actually feel sad for his character because of the way that the Ring mistreats him. Though he is not psychopathic or whatever, if you're looking for great performances, check it out (it is more than possible that you've already seen it)
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Originally Posted by Captain Steel (Post 1390618)
It took me a second, when you mentioned 2001... but I assume you were talking about Hal. Which is really a great example. Despite Hal being a machine, he does gradually become paranoid and obsessed over his mission, even to the point of murder.
Haven't seen several of these, but The Machinist is another good one that fits the bill... (but in a very dark way). |
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