MovieChat Forums > I Need To Know > Looking for a film about a psychiatrist ...

Looking for a film about a psychiatrist and a female patient (details in the description)


Hello to everyone and thanks in advance. Sorry for grammar mistakes, I was born and live in Europe.

I am looking for a film (either cinematic/TV/direct-to-video) with the following description for a decade now:
– genre: thriller (NOT horror and there isn’t anything supernatural in it)
– I have seen it in 2007 or before (certainly not later, most likely 2004-2006), so some of my descripton might not be perfect
– the TV station that was showing it usually has Lifetime of Hallmark made-for-TV titles at that time (early afternoon) nowadays, so the same thing was maybe true 15-20 years ago, when this film was shown
– the psychiatrist tries either to make a woman confess some crime or to put her in a mental hospital
– he actually succeds in puting her into the hospital. I think (actually mostly certain) she was put into straightjacket or tied to a hospital bed in one scene, or was at least heavily sedated
– I THINK the psychiatrist also tried to turn the woman against her husband (it is possible she was in some way romanticly involved with the psychiatrist). It is also possible that the psychiatrist was some kind of abusive husband and the other guy her lover/good friend. In any case, there were two male characters connected with the woman (the psychiatrist and the other guy)
– also, I am quite sure the other guy kills the psychiatrist or puts him in a mental hospital at the end
– I am not sure about the year of release or the country. However, as I have seen it in mid-2000s, and it looked relatively new back then, my guess would be 1990-2005, and I am almost certain that it was in English

Some people suggested “Final Analysis” (1992). I have seen that film and it is 100% NOT the one in question. Same with “Gothika”.

reply

Maybe "Mini's First Time" (2006) or "In Dreams" (1999) ?

reply

Not those two, but thank You

reply

Other guess is "Mind Games" (2006).

reply

Uf, the asylum scene is pretty close to what I remember, while their house is not the one in question. This MIGHT be the answer, but please don't take as an offense if I leave the question opened for a few more days. I would like it to be "my" film, but I am not entirely sure. Also, the release date is 2006, and all films shown in my country in 2007 or later can be found online (I mean, the date when it was shown) and I couldn't find the date for Mind Games.

Another candidate is "Dancing in the Dark" (1995), which was shown in my country in 2009 and was listed among similar films to "Mind Games". Unfortunately, I couldn't find it online, but I'll try

EDIT: I managed to find the Dancing in the Dark. I'll try to watch it as soon as possible, as the streaming site runs quite slowly.

reply

Did you find your movie? I don't have new idea, but "Mind Games" is some similar and I'm interested if it is correct title.

reply

Sorry for the wait, had some personal things on my mind.

"Dancing in the Dark" is definitely not it. Considering "Mind Games", it is quite complicated. While I am almost certain that it is, sadly, NOT the film in question, I think that I might have seen the mental hospital scene from that film and merged it with another, quite similar, film, because it looks almost the same as my memory. However, other than that, while the films have quite a few similarities, there are too many differences that can't be just a product of mis-remembering.

reply

And maybe something in this style?

"The Kindness of Strangers" (2006)
"Ellie and Joe Farrelly are a busy couple bringing up a teenage son while running a large building company. When they suddenly have twins, a stranger comes into their life at just the time when they need help the most."

reply

I tried to find the movie today, but I couldn't find it. It doesn't fit the description 100%, but who knows :) I'll watch it if I find it.

reply

OK. I will to look for other possibilities too. Are you sure that it was USA movie?

reply

As I wrote in the intro, "I am almost certain that it was in English", which COULD include the UK. However, as I am quite sure it was a TV film, I think that it is a better possibility that it is from the USA than from the UK, as the TV channels from my country usually show only TV series and miniseries from the UK, but TV films mostly from the USA or France.

Now, I wrote the intro in 2013 or so for one forum in my country and I was almost sure it was in English back then. Ten years after, I am not that sure, especially since nobody seems to remember it (and I actually saw the film twice; well, only the last half the secodn time; so it is not a case of a false memory).

"Mind Games" mental hospital scene is spot-on, almost as it was ripped from that film. However, quite a few other details don't match (and it is unlikely that I would see the film from 2006 on a national TV channel in 2006 or earlier twice). All films shown since January 1, 2007 onwards are in a certain database that includes the date when it was aired, so I could find a mention of Mind Games being shown in 2007 and there is none.

P.S. I have also eliminated "Borderline" (2002), in case anyone stubles upon that one.

Also, I wrote "psychiatrist", but it could as well be "psychologist" or any type of psychoterapist. I saw the film when I was 12-14 years old, and I am not sure I differentiated between the two back then.

reply

OK. Did you check this list? Maybe here is your movie:
https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=psychiatrist&ref_=kw_ref_yr&sort=release_date,asc&mode=detail&page=1&title_type=tvMovie&release_date=1980%2C2006

reply

Frankly, I am not 100% sure. I tried different key words, but i didn't keep track of it. I'll look through each film in my free time.

Thank You

reply

I looked through the lsit and couldn't found the film. It took me quicker since I have already eliminated some of these films before.

What I found maddening that there are quite a few films on the list made in the same style and with similar ideas, but they weren't the one in question.

Thank You once again for all Your input.

reply

Somebody found me similar movie, but it is from 2009.

"Unstable" (2009) - is it possible?
"After an abusive, dangerous relationship, a wealthy pampered new bride who has been under psychiatric care for mental issues is either sabotaging herself and her husband or her new husband is rapidly making her unstable."

Other possibility is "“Don’t Say a Word”, but it is too popular. Third option is "Whispers in the Dark" (1992) - maybe?

reply

Thank You once more for providing answer. "Don't Say a Word" is not it, I know the film very well. "Unstable" is too new, although I would still give it a shot.

As for "Whispers in the Dark", I will have to watch it first too confirm or eliminate.

I will check the two films this weekend and let You know.

reply

Sadly, it is not either Unstable or Whispers in the Dark. I am seriously thinking that this might be an episode of a TV show, but somehow the structure of the film I have in my head is closer to a film than a TV episode.

On the other hand, I found scanned TV schedules from that era and took a look at few random days of 2006. For example, "Dancing in the Dark", mentioned here and 100% NOT the film in question, was shown in January 2006, so I think that my conclusion that it must be a 1990-2005 era TV film is correct.
There were only four TV channels I could watch at the time, and only one or two of them showed films in the afternoon, so I might find "my" film by looking at the schedules. Sadly, I couldn0t find them for every week :(

EDIT: Some TV films from the late 1980s were also shown, so I might expand my searches to include more films from that decade.

reply

Maybe it is last resort, but good idea is contact with excellent movie bloggers, eg. movie-blogger.com , so I sent a message to him using contact form:
https://www.movie-blogger.com/contact/

I don't have other ideas connected with your post, unfortunately.

reply

Thank You very much, please let me know if he replies. I am quite busy this month, but I'll take a look at TV schedules from 2005 and 2006 during November and, with a little luck, I will find the film.

reply

And maybe "The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story" (TV Movie 2004) ?

It is very long shot, but maybe it is correct now.

reply

Somehow missed this one, but, regretably, it's not the one :(

reply

Something from this lsit (17 elements)?
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=tv_movie&genres=thriller&release_date=1980-01-01,2007-12-01&sort=release_date,asc&plot=psychiatrist

Maybe it is "Pay Off" (1987) ?
"A Psychiatrist kills his ex-lover/ex-patients family and burns her house down and she is soon committed into an insane asylum. The Doctor applies for a position at the asylum so that he can plan her murder but the position he wanted is already taken by a new female Psychiatrist, so he decides to fall in love with her to be able to get closer to his ex-lover/ex-patient who is now being harassed by the other patients who also want her dead."

reply

I can' find Pay Off online to watch, even under the Polish title- Wyrównanie rachunku :( While the plot is not exactly how I remember, it is also not entirely discardable. Some photos I found are black-and-white, which would eliminate the film, but I will wait for it to become available


I'll have a look at those listed (aside from La mort mystérieuse de Nina Chéreau, which I know by heart and it is certainly not the one in question).

Thank You very much (and sorry for the delayed answer).

reply

Sadly, none of the listed ones was the film. But thank You very much

reply

Perhaps it is "Barfuss" (2005) - "Nick Keller has issues keeping a job. In this first day as a janitor at a mental hospital he gets fired. However, it is then when he meets Leila, a troubled young woman who never wears shoes, and prevents her from hanging herself. Leila follows him home and refuses to leave his apartment and return to the hospital. As Leila has been kept away from the world and society, Nick engages into showing the world to the strange new girl. While trying not to lose his patience, he ends up falling for her."

reply

Maybe "Asylum" (2005) ? It is some similar.

reply