Mad to Be Normal

2017

1 hr. 46 min.

Biography

History

Drama

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List

58%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing performs various daring experiments on people who were diagnosed as mentally disturbed.

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Jan M

I hated the character of the Dr. The actor who played him really turned me off. I don't know if it would have been different if someone else had played the part. I recorded it and only watched parts. I would have hated to sit through the whole thing.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

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Audience Member

Nicely shot... an well tackled sensitive subject. The cast of 'mad' people and their parents was a credit to crazy people portrayals. Some of the standout actors were cast members with fewest lines. Great casting. I loved the crazies best for the modest, honest and understated performances (or the self-identification?)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

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Audience Member

I love David! The movie was good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/20

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Audience Member

Boring and uninteresting characters.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

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Audience Member

Absolutely amazing film. complete goosebumps. never have i ever felt so overwhelmed though my Hands were clammy and my heart was racing simultaneously.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

Itï¿ 1/2(TM)s a great plot, one that is derived from a true story. I feel as though it could have been a bit more cohesive. It definitely doesnï¿ 1/2(TM)t jump around so much that you canï¿ 1/2(TM)t follow it. Itï¿ 1/2(TM)s not one of those. It just seems to me that they could have pointed more focus on many of the smaller roles. I also wish that it had a better ending; not factually, just the way the facts are presented. In other words, more to the point, it ended abruptly- very much like you would see many movies made before 1970 end. But, if you have an interest in psychiatry, mental health or alternative medicine it is very much worth seeing. The actors did a fantastic job. They were all very believable.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Robert Mullan

Director

David Tennant

R.D. Laing

Elisabeth Moss

Angie Wood

Michael Gambon

Sydney Kotok

Gabriel Byrne

Jim

David Bamber

Dr. Meredith

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85%

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67%

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Mad to Be Normal: Trailer 1

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Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

There's plenty of jazzy paisley shirts, flamboyant velvet suits and on-the-nose music cues to denote its psychedelic 1960s setting, but these elements do little to soften Laing's eye-raisingly invasive and possibly inappropriate approach to his patients.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 9, 2017

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Ed Potton

Times (UK)

It's elevated above bog-standard biopic fare by the performances.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 7, 2017

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

David Tennant is on pugnacious, mercurial and beady-eyed form in this very interesting and absorbing film.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 7, 2017

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D.M. Palmer

Vague Visages

The irony of Made to Be Normal is that the man who did more than anyone to expose the daily machinations which underpin the modern family is trapped here in a rather tedious domestic drama.

Nov 8, 2023

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Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Like Laing's ideas and experiments, "Mad to be Normal" turns out to be much the mixed bag, with just as much worth tossing out as there is to celebrate.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 16, 2020

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Sarah Cartland

Caution Spoilers

David Tennant's masterful portrayal of a man driven to do good, but with astonishingly little self-awareness of the chaos he leaves in his wake, is a delight to watch -- though we don't get enough context.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 30, 2018

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Synopsis

Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing performs various daring experiments on people who were diagnosed as mentally disturbed.

Director: Robert Mullan
Executive Producer: Kirsty Bell, Peter Gerard Dunphy, Victor Glynn, Peter Hampden, Julian Hicks, Norman Merry, Charlie Wood
Screenwriter: Robert Mullan, Tracy Moreton
Production Co: Gizmo Films
Genre: Biography, History, Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 16, 2018

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