2. Revolution #9 (2001)
Probably the bleakest portrayal of mental illness there has ever been in cinema history, Revolution #9 is frighteningly realistic, showing how anyone - any 'normal' person can descend into madness and the ordeal that goes with it. Michael is a normal guy, with a girlfriend and a good job. He starts to get mildly paranoid - people are messing with his desk in work to get at him. Soon he is propelled into outright insanity. His performance at work deteriorates, he loses his job. He ends up banged up in a mental ward which is an accurately dreadful experience. Michael is obsessed with all sorts of conspiracy theories, believing there are messages hidden in adverts - all of the dreadful mental torture that the gravely mentally ill go through. He ends up standing on a roof edge with some snot nose teenagers yelling at him to jump. The film makes it quite clear that Michael does indeed jump. It is rather fatuous of me, given the above précis, to state that the film is bleak. It is painfully naturalistic in its depiction of schizophrenia - a good example of how an independent, low budget film can succeed in portraying a very powerful subject. Sometimes we don't need the Hollywood sugarised version of mental illness and we need a sober, serious look at how it affects people and ruins their lives. Sometimes, there isn't a happy ending.