10 Shocking Examples Of Gaslighting In Movies
7. Amélie
The French film Amélie has gained attention for its bubbly and quirky protagonist, the Amélie of the title, who toes the line of the manic pixie dream girl. The director Jean-Pierre Jeunet combines Tautou's performance with a bouncy Yann Tiersen score and vibrant color palate to portray a sweet Parisian girl attempting to navigate her world. This includes interactions with a local grocer, Collignon, who mistreats his workers.
Amélie uses gaslighting techniques in order to punish the mean grocer in ways akin to The Office's Jim Halpert. In a direct homage to Gaslight, she switches his light bulbs to dimmer ones. She swaps his shoes out for ones that are completely identical but one size smaller.
Her intentions are benevolent in manipulating this man- she wants him to treat his workers more nicely. But as her tricks become more elaborate, including having him speed dial a mental institution, the pranks progress from benign, minor tricks to cruel moves purposely meant to drive the grocer to question his own sanity.
Though she has a reputation for being a sweet and happy-go-lucky character, her actions towards Collignon illustrate a darker and crueler part of Amélie's psyche.