Christian Bale delivers possibly his greatest performance in this psychological masterpiece. Trevor Reznek is one of the most complex and stunning characters on this entire list, and his struggle through paranoia and eventually insanity is hard to watch at times. This film manages to provide two seemingly contradictory perspectives at the same time, the perspective within Reznek's head, and the perspective from the outside of his mind. It is hard to determine how the film allows us to feel both intertwined with Reznek and separate from his plight at the same time, allowing the audience to both figure out and decipher the mysteries of the narrative at their own pace, similar to a Hitchcock film, and to feel as though they are trapped in this situation with him, more akin to Scorsese's character studies. This balancing of tones and perspectives is what gets this film so high on the list, it is one of the most complex and thorough character studies I have ever seen.
The film is also beautifully shot and told outstandingly, and is by all accounts a masterpiece. Bale and director Brad Anderson worked together to create one of the finest psychological thrillers of the century thus far, and I implore you all to watch the twisted delve into the mind of a fascinating individual.
3. Pi (1998)
This film is insane. It embodies the idea of insanity and a loss of control more than any other film on this list, bar the #1 film. This surreal, uncomfortable and roughspun film launched the career of Daren Aronofsky, one of the most daring filmmakers in current American cinema. It chronicles a man going gradually insane....and that is about all that concretely happens within this film. Everything else is up to interpretation and is totally deranged. Pi is one of the most abrasive film's I have ever seen, and much like how Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, Pi aims to force the audience into feeling the same emotions as the onscreen characters. Therefore, whilst Requiem aims to depress the audience, Pi literally aims to drive it's viewers insane. There is only one other film on this list which aims to do that one thing, and we will get to that soon.
2. American Psycho (2000)
This film is too obvious to write about, if you've seen this film then you've been waiting for it too appear. If you haven't, then it's placing should speak for itself. It is brilliant, and totally unhinged. The only other thing I can recommend is the original novel, which offers a very different perspective and is even less coherent than the film.
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Apocalypse Now is an insane movie, about insanity, made by people who had been driven to insanity at the time, and was likely woven with insanity at every level of it's production. The seemingly simple story of a disillusioned army officer sent out to assassinate a rebellious Colonel is renown as one of the most daring, provocative and shocking films ever made. Battered by possibly the worst production of all time, budget constraints, Marlon Brando acting like a total jackass on set, Martin Sheen suffering from alcoholism and a heart attack, Francis Ford Coppola threatening suicide, issues with the Philippian army (the country wherein the film was shot), a huge storm which crippled production, the principle shoot dragging out for almost 18 months, a group of extras who murdered a buffalo on camera (a shot which features in the final cut), conflicts over the editing process, and much more.
No wonder then, that a film born of such insanity and hardship is the greatest study of the latent animalistic insanity which lies within us all. A film which shows not only the futility of war, but the madness that results and births it. Is Colonel Kurtz insane, or is he the only sane man in the country? Will his death calm things or result in even more rampant madness? What kind of society would allow a monster such as Killgore to be given such a high rank? Apocalypse Now does not answer any of these questions, it overloads the audience with so many unanswered question in fact that it is likely to drive the viewer into a maddening state of self-conflict.
I love Apocalypse Now, it is one of the many astonishing films on the list and I urge you all to experience it at least once. In my opinion it is the ultimate statement on insanity, and one of the most unnerving experiences I have ever had.
By Jack D. Phillips
Zoom Film Review
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