There have been countless depictions of sociopaths and other predatory personalities in film. Most are pretty bad, incomplete and/or inaccurate. But some have been dead-on.
And so I’ve canvassed my memory for what I regard as several notably excellent portraits of sociopaths in film. I’d be curious what you think of these performances (if you’ve seen them), and eager to discover, through you, new film/television portraits of sociopaths that ring disturbingly true.
In no special order, I’ll start with the original foreign film, The Vanishing, 1986 (not the subsequent and lame Hollywood remake). The Vanishing delivers-up one of the most sinister depictions of a sociopath I’ve ever seen. The fright derives less from graphic violence (there is none) than from the movie’s success at immersing you into the compartmentalized world of its principal character, who is seamlessly managing the presentation of a normal, well-adjusted family man, as he simultaneously and covertly pursues his secret life and morbid agenda.
Next is Unlawful Entry, 1992, a movie starring Ray Liotta as a local cop who smoothly enters the life of a young neighborhood couple (actors Kurt Russell and Anne Archer). Although somewhat formulaic plot-wise, the movie’s performances are impressive. Liotta’s sociopath—glib, charming and seductive—will make the hair on your skin rise. And both Archer and Russell vividly express the tension and alarm arising from their slow awareness that Liotta isn’t who he appeared so convincingly to be.
Richard Gere, in a somewhat unheralded role, nails-down a sociopathic cop in Internal Affairs, 1990. Gere gives a riveting presentation of the sociopathic mentality. Andy Garcia (actor), an Internal Affairs cop in Gere’s department, finds himself in the unenviable position of having to confront the slowly unfolding breadth (and horror) of Gere’s sociopathy. Garcia is also incredible. As in Unlawful Entry, the movie accurately shows how sociopaths can invade, lodge themselves in, and violate innocent, dignified lives.
One of the greatest performances of a sociopath I’ve ever seen can be found in Episode#44 of the former HBO series Six Feet Under. The episode is called, “That’s My Dog.” In it, David (actor Michael C. Hall) extends a random act of help to a road-stranded stranger, Jake (actor Michael Weston). David then finds himself overpowered by Jake, who, in the course of the episode’s hour, manages to embody virtually every relevant, sinister quality for which the sociopath is notorious. Weston’s demonic performance is astonishing. Hall’s as the traumatized victim of a sadistic sociopath is equally amazing.
Great performance, yes. Sociopath? Maybe not.
Dexter
Speaking of actor Michael C. Hall, I wonder what your take is on Dexter, the great Showtime Series in which Hall plays a sociopathic serial killer working, by day, as a Miami crime-scene forensics analyst?
I love this series, which is coming into its third season. But as disturbing a character as Dexter is, I would not characterize him as a sociopath. This is just a fun diagnostic quibble. Ostensibly, Dexter grows up a budding, violent sociopath. His father (or father-figure) recognizes the dark, evil side over which, as a boy and adolescent, Dexter seems to have little, and diminishing, control. The father sees that Dexter is compulsively, inexorably inclined to sadistic violence.
His solution is to somehow train Dexter to direct his sociopathic, homicidal proclivities towards cruel, menacing, destructive individuals. Best, if someone’s got to be snuffed-out by Dexter, it be someone the world will be better without!
And so Dexter becomes skilled, over time, at identifying individuals the world won’t miss; individuals as dangerous and creepy as he.
Why, then, is Dexter not really a sociopath—and indeed, diagnostically speaking, not even necessarily plausible? Because, despite his violent, murderous compulsions, Dexter is, first of all, a fundamentally sincere person. He is also loyal–for instance to his sister and a girlfriend. And while Dexter struggles to “feel” warm feelings, indeed anything—a struggle, incidentally, that he embraces—he knows how to have the backs of others, even where his self-interest may be at risk.
In a word, Dexter strives, against his darkest, most sordid inclinations, for growth. This is precisely what makes him and the series so fascinating, and precisely what rules him out as sociopath.
What do you think?
(This article is copyrighted (c) 2008 by Steve Becker, LCSW.)
Dr. Steve-
My husband loves Dexter (husband is not a sociopath!)….I told him…you validated me….he’s not a sociopath!
Psychos in the arts interest me, particularly artists: O’Keeffe; Picasso; Pound; Ted Hughes (poet).
ps
Anne Sexton too! (poet)
I think a sociopath can show what appears to be loyalty to a girlfriend or someone else, and they can also take action to have someone’s back, even though it appears to put them at risk. Why do I think this? I think if the girlfriend or someone else is someone they view as someone they “own” or have power over, and who will repay their act of loyalty in kind, if the person is someone who has utility to them, they will take action to protect the person. And if that girlfriend or other person is being mistreated or in some sort of trouble from someone OTHER than the psychopath himself, then I think it is also a game to them, to oneup that other person who is causing the trouble–to win over them. Even when it appears they are putting themselves at risk out of altruisim or concern to save someone else, it is really just to see how they can manipulate the situation to save the person, and it is thrilling to them to put their ownselves at risk, then get away with it and get themselves out of the situation and win the game. But if it actually came down to the wire of the girlfriend or person whose back they are saving or themselves, at that point, if they’ve exhausted all other options, then they’d throw the person under the bus.
Not long after I discovered this site and the painful realization I had been used and hurt by a sociopath, a friend introduced me to a very chilling recent film starring Judy Dench, “Notes on a Scandal.” So I watched this and recognized parts of her character that resonated darkly with what I had just experienced in my own life. There is a very dramatic plot to the film but theatrics aside, the elements of a sociopath are fairly clear I think. I saw the main character’s controlling nature, her victim’s approach to everything, an obsession with sexuality rather than deeper emotions, lying, deceitfulness, and manipulation. What horrified me the most was the ending. Without giving too much away, I will say that it struck me as incredibly painful since I recognized from my own horrible recent experience the way a shadow of a soul can so easily slip through the cracks and continue to charm, target, manipulate and eventually start over again. No remorse, no heart and no chance for redemption.
A movie to watch…”In the Company of Men”
Ironically I saw it a few years ago,and ended up living parts of it.
I blog on it here:http://holywatersalt.blogspot.com/2008/08/are-men-really-this-evil.html
http://holywatersalt.blogspot.com/2008/08/are-men-really-this-evil.html
here here; two that stand out to me right now are the woody allen produced film match point, i saw parts of my own s path ex boyfriend here. and also the series nip tuck the main character is a sex addicted s path type person. there are lots i know of in film and tv, will try and remember a few more. its chilling to see your own life experiences on film so correctly portrayed, but eye opening none the less. funny i watche d the movie above mentioned match point with the ex s path wonder if he recognised himself. thanks to you all.
Woody Allen is another psycho, I used to like his films until….
well marrying your daughter and living the debauchery for real…it’s like paying him to hear of his cruel exploits.
Ingmar Bergman….oh boy
I reviewed a film of his here:
http://holywatersalt.blogspot.com/2008/07/in-famous-narcissists.html
I watched the first 2 episodes of Dexter and was bored senseless.
But most importantly, he did NOT seem like a sociopath.
Personally, I think the series is dangerous, because it’s romanticizing psychopaths… and may give people the idea that all they need is the guidance & love of a good woman – like Dexter’s love interest. Or give parents a reason to beat themselves up thinking if Dexter’s foster father was able to make him lovable… ugh.
The character isn’t even a sociopath, period.
A sociopath could never have the sort of respectful supportive relationship interactions that he seems to have with his delicate girlfriend & his sister, real or faked – no real sociopath could keep up the facade so well it would be so consistent like that to those loved ones.
Furthermore, from his journaling voice-overs it’s clear that he CARES and WORRIES… or he wouldn’t talk like he does, and think so much about these things. Psychopaths just don’t do that type of thoughtful emotional depth of analyzing feelings or lack thereof, the way Dexter does. And to think they do is to assume they’re like the rest of us – and contemplative of their condition.
They’re not.
It’s complete fiction. Just a contradictory hodge podge for the sake of making compelling entertainment with shock value.
Anyway, I think the #1 pure example of a sociopath in film is “Gaslight”, with Ingrid Bergman.
Just a fantastic film overall.
And the absolute epitome of a sociopath at work.
He wines & dines her, sweeps her off her feet… He’s charismatic & charming. He’s taking her away from all this. He’s like a knight. He’s assertive, take charge.
And were there “red flags” in the beginning? Yes, even that is included in the story! He shows up when she asks him not to.
And then… you find out… sadly, before she does. Poor woman. It’s difficult & painful to watch at times.
It’s just the perfect depiction of a sociopath at work.
Thus where the term “gaslighting” came from.