5 films that deal with postpartum depression
What's the story
Motherhood is deemed a blissful chapter in women's lives. From seeing your baby's first smile to celebrating their first step, the journey is laced with exultation. However, not everything is as idyllic as it seems and this role leaves some with postpartum depression, leading to emotional, physical, and behavioral changes. We take a look at five films that demonstrate this other side of motherhood.
#1
'For Keeps' (1988)
Director John G Avildsen's (Rocky) coming of age film, For Keeps, is centered around two ambitious teenagers Darcy and Stan, whose life goes south when Darcy becomes pregnant. Actor Molly Ringwald as Darcy had delivered a power-packed performance as a young, troubled mother who is at the crossroads when it comes to keeping her baby. You can stream it on MUBI.
#2
'The Stranger in Me' (2008)
Susanne Wolff stars in director Emily Atef's moving portrayal of postpartum depression, The Stranger in Me. This German film chronicles the life of a young couple—Rebecca and her boyfriend Julian—expecting the birth of their first. However, after parturition, Rebecca feels everything but love for her newborn. What sinks in, instead, is a drowning realization that she is not cut out for this role.
#3
'The Lost Daughter' (2021)
Actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, with stalwart Olivia Colman, paints a poignant portrayal of motherhood in The Lost Daughter. Leda is an academically inclined young mother who literally pulls out her hair while trying to raise two daughters, and the overpowering weight of motherhood sometimes leaves her with a stifling sense of suffocation. It shows how faltering at motherhood doesn't exactly qualify one as "morally evil."
#4
'Baby Blues' (2008)
Yes, you read the title right. Based on a harrowing true story, the Lars Jacobson and Amardeep Kaleka directorial chronicles a struggling mother's (Colleen Porch) journey, who undergoes a psychotic breakdown due to postpartum depression. Sensing that his mother is on a rampage to kill all her children, her eldest son takes it upon himself to save the family. Jacobson also penned the script.
#5
'A Mouthful of Air' (2021)
Adapted from Amy Koppelman's novel, A Mouthful of Air charts the journey of Julie Davis (Amanda Seyfried), a woman wallowing in pain and misery, yearning for a gasp of air. An author of children's books, she is little prepared for the trauma that follows her second baby's birth. What could have been a cause of joy soon morphs into a cause of unending despair.