One of the first films to really deal with mental illness as a feature topic on screen, THE SNAKE PIT is brought to life through its amazing central performance by Olivia de Havilland (GONE WITH THE WIND), who plays Virginia Stuart Cunningham, a woman who has suffered a mental breakdown.
The film begins with Virginia in an asylum suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, unable to even remember her husband Robert (Mark Stevens, OBJECTIVE, BURMA!) or even how long she was been in the institution. Her doctor Mark Kik (Leo Genn, THE LONGEST DAY) cannot get through to her, so he begins shock treatment to “awaken” her. Eventually, the treatment unclouds Virginia’s mind enough that her and Dr. Kik can delve into the source of her mental hang-ups.
The film is very Freudian in its approach and the methods of Dr. Kik would be questionable today. However, de Havilland’s performance breaks past all the dated psychobabble that the film projects. She is convincing and we care about finding out her past and invest emotionally in her recovery.
Director Anatole Litvak (SORRY, WRONG NUMBER) brings an almost Expressionist style to some of the scenes, using bold, dark shadows to express the torments of the patients’ minds. The other patients seem to be right out of stock “crazy” people casting, but the film elicits sympathy for them instead of out and out fear.
Even if it’s a bit naïve, the hope that one can recover brings optimism to the seemingly hopeless environment. One thing that really impressed me about the film was that there were no quick fixes for Virginia. She didn’t all of a sudden see her issues and poof was cured. The film is honest about the long road and many factors that go into recovering and suffering from mental illness. More than just a message film, the picture gets to the heart and personal heartbreak of mental illness.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
