US 108m Dir: Anatole Litvak Key Cast: Olivia de Havilland
Based on: The Snake Pit by Mary Ann Ward (Novel)
This is one of a small handful of films that caused real-world change. It's been reported that as many as twenty-six US states enacted reform legislation around mental health.
Virginia (Olivia de Havilland) has no idea where she is. With the aid of Dr. Kik (Leo Genn) she begins to understand she is in a mental hospital and is surprised when a man called Robert (Mark Stevens) arrives and says he is her husband. Over time, Dr. Kik helps Virginia to remember the events that led her to have a nervous breakdown.
I thought this was a phenomenal film. It's a powerful portrayal of a woman with mental health problems hitting rock bottom and helped to get better thanks to professionals. It depicts a mental health system that is awful, using shock therapy and most of the staff treating the patients with utter contempt but with Dr. Kik showing how things should be done. Obviously, modern mental health services are quite different but this still stands up well as a reminder of how awful things were not so long ago. There are though quite a few similarities between the hospital depicted here and modern services, not least the chronic underfunding.
Olivia de Havilland is fantastic here. She went deep on the research, to the point she was even phoning up journalists who questioned if things depicted in the film happened in real life to tell them she had been present for very similar events. She presents a genuine fear and does to in a way that generates sympathy- as a viewer you really understand how this character is feeling and never write her off as simply 'insane'. It's a very nuanced performance that many could have taken too far and become hammy but de Havilland knew exactly where the line was.
I know some have problems with the way that the cause for Virginia's mental health problems is connected to her father and relationships with men- it does feel quite Freuidan and sexist. I do think though the film gets away with it by Dr. Kik suggesting the 'why' behind her mental health issues is difficult to understand but the 'how' is more important. I think you can view this as Dr. Kik reaching for a 40s explanation behind the issues which doesn't really work but nonetheless he does great work to help her get better which is the main thing.
I don't think this is an especially well-remembered film which is a shame because I think it's brilliant.
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