Sometimes We Think About Dying: 5 Films For Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which has been officially observed in the U.S. since 1949. Despite this, mental health conditions are rarely depicted in media, specifically film; in 2024 alone, less than 2% of all characters in the top 100 most popular films were shown to have a mental health condition, and even fewer were represented without being stigmatized.

Because of this, it’s important to spotlight films that get mental health awareness right, depicting conditions like depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation with the care and consideration they deserve. While the following five films mostly depict the three aforementioned conditions, honorable mentions that thoughtfully represent other illnesses like PTSD, OCD, and schizophrenia include Blaze (2022), Turtles All the Way Down (2024), and Words on Bathroom Walls (2020).

She Dies Tomorrow (2020)

A woman walks outside at night, cloaked in red and blue light. — Kate Lyn Sheil as Amy in *She Dies Tomorrow*. Photo courtesy of Neon.

Written and directed by Amy Seimetz, She Dies Tomorrow (2020) is a psychological thriller that follows Amy (Kate Lyn Sheil), a woman suddenly plagued by the notion that she is going to die tomorrow. When the people around her start to believe in this idea themselves, a contagious frenzy ensues over what they believe to be the last day of their lives.

While many might view this as an aesthetically pleasing horror where not much happens, She Dies Tomorrow succeeds in depicting the indescribable, out-of-the-blue experience of anxiety, specifically around death and dying. In fact, Seimetz herself was inspired to create this film after noticing how people around her reacted to her stories of experiencing anxiety attacks.

Indeed, the film can be viewed as one 90-minute-long anxiety attack; carefully-chosen elements like strobing neon lights, ominous dialogue, and contagion imagery successfully instill the disconcerting feeling of anxiety in the viewer. Despite the flatness of many of the characters, the story manages to showcase a wide range of emotions associated with death, including dread, relief, and acceptance. While this is far from the most entertaining film on this list, She Dies Tomorrow is an excellent depiction of anxiety that those both familiar and unfamiliar with the condition can find value in.

Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023)

A woman lays on a forest floor. She is outside and it is daytime. — Daisy Ridley as Fran in *Sometimes I Think About Dying*. Photo courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.

Directed by Rachel Lambert, Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023) is a romantic dramedy based on a 2019 short of the same name by Stefanie Abel Horowitz. The film follows Fran (Daisy Ridley), an isolated office worker in a coastal Oregon town whose intrusive thoughts about death are disrupted when charming Robert (Dave Merheje) enters her life.

With whimsy and wit, Sometimes I Think About Dying perfectly encapsulates what depression in a mundane modern life can look like: extreme introversion, strange food cravings, and pretending to lay dying in the middle of a forest. Thoughtful and heartfelt, the film’s emphasis on heightened everyday sounds, asinine workplace conversations, and a desire to become one with the earth helps successfully depict Fran’s depression and suicidal ideation.

While Fran is far from perfect and her story can feel repetitive, the film offers an important lesson in opening up and asking for help without perpetuating the harmful stereotype that love can magically “fix” someone with a mental illness.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

A woman and a man sit in a car. They are inside and it is daytime. — L-R: Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons in *I’m Thinking of Ending Things*. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman and based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Iain Reid, I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020) is a psychological thriller that follows a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who experiences misgivings about her new boyfriend, Jake (Jesse Plemons), as the two take a road trip to his parents’ remote farm.

Surreal and multilayered, the film uses foreshadowing, ever-changing wardrobes and names, as well as a twist in the third act to discuss a wide range of themes, from the fickle nature of time to the fallibility of memory to the inevitability of the “end.”

While the fractured narrative may confuse or frustrate many, especially upon first watch, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is anything but dull, its standout performances and dreamlike scenes making for an unforgettable watch as well as a wholly original exploration of depression and suicide.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

Owen and Maddy sit on the couch bathed in the light of a tube television, watching an eerie show. — (L-R) Justice Smith as Owen and Jack Haven as Maddy in *I Saw the TV Glow*. Photo courtesy of A24.

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, I Saw the TV Glow (2024) is a coming-of-age horror that follows Owen (Justice Smith), a sheltered teenager living in the suburbs whose view of reality begins to transform when his enigmatic classmate Maddy (Jack Haven) introduces him to a late-night TV show called The Pink Opaque.

Gorgeously shot with a haunting soundtrack, I Saw the TV Glow is a coming-of-age story like no other that authentically explores queer and trans identity, media as a form of escapism, and time as a prison for those unable—or unwilling—to live as their true selves.

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Twin Peaks, this film is filled to the brim with references that serve to blur Owen’s reality with fiction as he suffocates at the hands of Mr. Melancholy, the film’s surreal personification of depression and the need to conform above all else. A one-of-a-kind portrayal of mental illness and gender dysphoria, I Saw the TV Glow is sure to stand the test of time as an iconic piece of queer media.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

A boy cries in his bedroom. He is inside and it is nighttime. — Logan Lerman as Charlie in *The Perks of Being a Wallflower*. Photo courtesy of Lionsgate.

Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky and based on his 1999 novel of the same name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) is a coming-of-age drama that follows Charlie (Logan Lerman), an introverted high school freshman who discovers the wonders of friendship, music, and love when he meets seniors Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller).

What’s not to love about this cult classic? Charlie is a wonderfully three-dimensional protagonist whose triumphant highs and heartbreaking lows are at the center of this relatable teen drama. Many will find comfort in Charlie’s messy, yet accepting friend group, adorable crush on Sam, and wholesome relationship with his English teacher (Paul Rudd).

As a Pittsburgh-based fan of the original novel with a (newfound) love for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The Perks of Being a Wallflower feels like home as it does for countless others who struggle with social anxiety, childhood trauma, and accepting the love they think they deserve.