AUD/SUD Edition Movie Exercises
ALCOHOL
A Star Is Born (R, 2018) — Fame and love collide as a musician’s alcohol use disorder and depression lead to self-destruction, illustrating the co-occurrence of mood disorder and addiction.
Another Round (NR, 2020) — Four teachers test a theory that constant mild intoxication improves life, spiraling into dependency and existential emptiness.
Crazy Heart (R, 2009) — A washed-up country singer’s career and health collapse from drinking, until love and music offer a path to redemption.
Days of Wine and Roses (NR, 1962) — A couple’s romance devolves into mutual alcohol misuse, illustrating the shared nature of addiction and denial.
Flight (R, 2012) — A pilot who saves his passengers while intoxicated faces moral reckoning and denial around his alcohol use disorder.
Leaving Las Vegas (R, 1995) — A Hollywood producer who lost everything because of his AUD arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death, and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with a local sex worker.
Smashed (R, 2012) — A young teacher tries to rebuild her life and marriage after confronting the drinking problem she hid behind humor and charm.
The Good House (R, 2021) — A successful realtor’s “social drinking” masks full-blown alcohol use disorder compounded by loneliness.
The Lost Weekend (Approved, 1945) — A writer’s lost weekend becomes a nightmarish descent into alcohol dependence. One of cinema’s earliest portrayals of addiction as disease.
The Way Back (R, 2020) — A grieving former basketball star channels his pain into coaching while battling binge drinking and depression.
To Leslie (R, 2022) — A small-town single mother squanders her lottery winnings in self-destruction before seeking redemption.
When a Man Loves a Woman (R, 1994) — A mother’s secret binge drinking threatens her marriage and family as she begins a painful journey toward sobriety and trust.
COCAINE / STIMULANTS
Clean & Sober (R, 1988) — A real-estate agent in denial about his cocaine addiction checks into rehab under false pretenses and unexpectedly begins genuine recovery.
Half Nelson (R, 2006) — A devoted teacher hides an addiction to cocaine that threatens his career and ideals.
HEROIN / OPIOIDS
Beautiful Boy (R, 2018) — A father struggles to save his son from meth and opioid addiction, depicting relapse, hope, and unconditional love.
Ben Is Back (R, 2018) — A mother’s faith is tested when her son returns home in fragile recovery from opioid addiction.
Gia (R, 1998) — Supermodel Gia Carangi’s glamorous life unravels through heroin addiction, trauma, and loneliness.
Four Good Days (R, 2020) — A mother helps her daughter endure four days of detox to qualify for medication-assisted treatment, capturing the agony of relapse cycles.
Trainspotting (R, 1996) — A group of friends in Edinburgh navigate the euphoric highs and grim consequences of heroin addiction and relapse.
POLYDRUG USE / MIXED ADDICTIONS
28 Days (PG-13, 2000) — A hard-drinking journalist enters court-mandated rehab and learns about denial, self-destruction, and community.
Don't Worry He Won't Get Very Far On Foot (R, 2018)— After a near-fatal drunk driving accident leaves him paralyzed, a man confronts his addiction and trauma through art and 12-step recovery.
Rachel Getting Married (R, 2008) — A woman's return home for her sister’s wedding reopens old wounds of guilt and relapse in a family scarred by substance misuse.
Requiem for a Dream (R, 2000) — Four characters fall into addiction to amphetamines and heroin, illustrating obsession, delusion, and psychological collapse.
BEHAVIORAL / PROCESS ADDICTIONS
Thanks for Sharing (R, 2013) — A group of people recovering from sex addiction form a support network, exploring shame, intimacy, and relapse in behavioral addiction recovery.
Where to Buy or Rent these Movies
Mental Health Edition Movie Exercises
Anxiety / Depression / Self-Harm
It’s Kind of a Funny Story (PG-13, 2010) — A high-schooler checks himself into a psych ward for suicidal thoughts, finding hope among others struggling to overcome various mental health conditions.
Little Miss Sunshine (R, 2006) — A quirky family road trip reveals hidden despair and unspoken self-harm attempts beneath comic chaos, portraying depression and existential frustration.
Melancholia (R, 2011) — On the eve of a planet’s collision with Earth, a woman’s severe depression manifests as apocalyptic calm, a portrait of major depressive disorder.
Ordinary People (R, 1980) — After surviving his brother’s death, a teen struggles with guilt and emotional repression, exploring depression, grief, and self-harm.
Prozac Nation (R, 2001) — A Harvard student’s struggle with major depression and medication dependence mirrors the early Prozac era’s ambivalence about pharmaceutical treatment.
The Hours (PG-13, 2002) — Three women across time battle depression and suicidal ideation, connecting through Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway and shared existential suffering.
The Skeleton Twins (R, 2014) — Estranged twins reconnect after near-tragedies, confronting shared depression, suicidal ideation, and family dysfunction.
Violet (NR, 2021) — A young woman with a history of self-harm battles intrusive self-critical thoughts, exploring trauma recovery and self-compassion.
Psychosis / Schizophrenia
A Beautiful Mind (PG-13, 2001) — Math genius Paul Nash struggles with schizophrenia, learning to distinguish delusion from reality.
Black Swan (R, 2010) — A ballerina’s obsessive pursuit of perfection devolves into psychosis, hallucinations, and self-harm fueled by anxiety and performance pressure.
Shine (PG-13, 1996) — Pianist David Helfgott’s brilliance is undermined by trauma and mental collapse, exploring psychosis, breakdown, and creative recovery.
Take Shelter (R, 2011) — A husband’s terrifying apocalyptic visions blur reality and delusion, raising fears of inherited schizophrenia and the toll of untreated psychosis.
Words on Bathroom Walls (PG-13, 2020) — A teen with schizophrenia hides his diagnosis while navigating school and love, illustrating psychosis, anxiety, and social stigma.
Abuse / Grief / Trauma / Survival
Antwone Fisher (PG-13, 2002) — A young sailor with violent outbursts begins therapy and confronts his childhood abuse and abandonment, exploring trauma recovery and self-worth.
Manchester by the Sea (R, 2016) — A man haunted by past tragedy returns home to care for his nephew, facing debilitating grief, guilt, and suicidal rumination.
Moonlight (R, 2016) — Across three acts, a young man’s identity is shaped by abuse, neglect, and unspoken desire, exploring trauma, emotional isolation, and depression.
Precious (R, 2009) — A teen survivor of horrific abuse finds empowerment through education and support, illustrating PTSD, dissociation, and depression.
Bipolar Disorder
Infinitely Polar Bear (R, 2014) — A father with bipolar disorder struggles to care for his daughters while managing manic episodes, showing resilience amid instability.
Silver Linings Playbook (R, 2012) — A man with bipolar disorder rebuilds his life through dance and connection, examining recovery, stigma, and the role of love in stability.
Touched With Fire (R, 2015) — Two poets with bipolar disorder meet in a psychiatric hospital and fall into a passionate but destabilizing relationship, exploring mania and love’s volatility.
Eating Disorders / Body Image
To the Bone (NR, 2017) — A young woman enters a residential treatment program for anorexia, exploring family dynamics, control, and recovery from self-destructive patterns.
OCD / BPD / Delusional Disorders
Girl, Interrupted (R, 1999) — A young woman’s stay in a psychiatric hospital exposes the blurred lines between sanity and illness.
Paper Spiders (NR, 2021) — A daughter struggles to help her mother slipping into persecutory delusions, exploring delusional disorder, anxiety, and caregiver burnout.
Turtles All the Way Down (PG-13, 2024) — A teen detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder wrestles with intrusive thoughts and contamination fears.
Where to Buy or Rent these Movies
HELPFUL HINTS
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You will need to either buy or rent copies of the films you want to screen during your Meetups.
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You can Buy or Rent the individual films on VOD (Video on Demand) at Amazon Video, iTunes, Google Play Store, etc.
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Since you will hold ongoing meetings, it is more cost effective to Buy the films instead of Renting them. The database (above) features links to the Amazon Video VOD purchase pages for each film, along with pricing information. The same titles can be located at iTunes, Google Play Store, etc.
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Prices are generally identical across each VOD platform, but sometimes you can find lower prices for some films on the Airtable database.
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Most films are also available on DVDs as well, and you can find the Amazon Buy DVD links above.
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If you purchase all the films from the Workbook, they will remain in your Amazon/iTunes/Google Play account and you will be able to screen the films at any location using either a browser, Amazon Firestick, Roku player, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, or any other streaming device or Smart TV.