Movie character, suddely became obsessive/crazy

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After I have watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I have been looking for movies with a main/secondary character/s that faced the same emotional/psychological state as Roy Neary (lead character from the Close Encounters of the Third Kind). I like the way he slowly became obsessed in uncontrollable manner that it has affected his relationship with his family. He's been acting crazy all the time. He felt depressed because he can't exactly explain what his doing/seeing. The fact that he isn't actually crazy makes it (for me) more interesting.


So guys, do you know any movie with such character?



Zodiac was the first one that I thought of.
Yeah, Jake Gyllenhaul's character and Robert Downey Jr's character (but he felt threatened that's why, but still yes). Exactly. But I've already seen that. You know some more?



One Hour Photo, though I don't think it's exactly what you're after, might be worth a look.
I think the character in One Hour Photo was crazy from the beginning and did not become that way...when I think of a character who becomes crazy as the film progresses, the obvious answer to me is Jack Torrance in The Shining.



Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight (2008), though his reason to hate Batman and Gordon for what happened is understandable. If there's a character reversal that bugged me was Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro. He literally turned from obsessive, paranoid Spidey fanatic, to villainous foe in a blink of an eye.



Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight (2008), though his reason to hate Batman and Gordon for what happened is understandable. If there's a character reversal that bugged me was Amazing Spider-Man 2's Electro. He literally turned from obsessive, paranoid Spidey fanatic, to villainous foe in a blink of an eye.
Yeah, but not those kind of obsessions. More like a slight neurotic way not psychopathic. I like psychopaths in movies, they're my favorites, and that was Harvey Dent became, and Electro.
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Not sure if I remember correctly, but didn't Kevin Spacey's character in American Beauty have a gradual change toward obsession via a mid-life crisis and growing infatuation?



Both versions of The Fly are about a scientist driven by obsession and then driven to madness, as well as physical mutation, as the result of his own experiments. (This is a rather common theme in a lot of older Sci-Fi & Horror movies. The same could be applied to The Invisible Man or Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde.)



Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.



Jacob's Ladder - this movie is just a head trip. Can't really explain it without giving away the ending, but the main character seems to either be going mad (or something else) and desperately seeks to find out why.



Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance) in The Shining is the OBVIOUS answer for this question.

One of the best performance of all-time.
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Glorious 39 - not sure if this fits, but in this case the main character is female. Living in England in 1939, just prior to WWII, Anne is a young woman from an affluent family who begins to discover secrets about her family's involvement in a secret society of Nazi sympathizers (as there were some strong Nazi capitulation forces in Great Britain at that time). Her family (through various & nefarious means) begin to convince her that she's sick & going insane, and thus anything she's unearthed is not real (they try to convince her that they are patriotic Britishers while she is the one who's losing her mind). She's locked up by her own family as she struggles for freedom and to discover the truth.

Interesting thriller for those interested in WWII era history.



Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.
The only reason John Denver's Jerry appears to be going insane is because God (George Burns) forces him to do a lot of crazy things and when an explanation is required, God doesn't have Jerry's back at all, literally hanging him out to dry. Even when Jerry's sanity is brought into question, God still doesn't come forward and explain that he forced Jerry to do all the things that he does and offers Jerry no way to prove it. So, for me, Jerry's character really doesn't fit this thread.



The only reason John Denver's Jerry appears to be going insane is because God (George Burns) forces him to do a lot of crazy things and when an explanation is required, God doesn't have Jerry's back at all, literally hanging him out to dry. Even when Jerry's sanity is brought into question, God still doesn't come forward and explain that he forced Jerry to do all the things that he does and offers Jerry no way to prove it. So, for me, Jerry's character really doesn't fit this thread.
An interesting debate.

We could argue that, in a similar way, the "Roy" character in Close Encounters was driven to his seeming craziness by the influence of powerful aliens who may have been imbuing him with new instincts & obsessive compulsions. Yet Roy is the model for this thread. So I contend that just because Jerry's influence was God and not aliens (although some argue they are one and the same) his compulsions appeared no less obsessive to everyone around him.

The big difference is in the film presentation - with Roy, his actions are a mystery up until the end of the film, while with Jerry we're introduced to his outside influence quickly. Also, Roy didn't understand what was driving him, while Jerry did (although, at times early on, he questioned whether it was actually really happening).



Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance) in The Shining is the OBVIOUS answer for this question.

One of the best performance of all-time.
Yeah, I just watched it a while ago. A great film. Well I like psychopath tendencies. But psychopathic character are more easier to find, because many of psychopathic performances are more remarkable and memorable. I'm trying to find those character like ''Roy Neary'' from Close Encounter of the Third Kind. Like Robert Graysmith from Zodiac (2007). Those performances that started as a normal guy then as the story progresses the character is becoming neurotic, obsessive, or crazy (not schizo).



Oh God - John Denver's character seems to go through what appears to be a growing religious obsession to his family & co-workers. He begins to jeopardize his career, his reputation and that of his own family as he seems to become more obsessed with relaying messages from God and proving the Almighty's existence. To anyone not in on what's going on in his private moments (which the audience is privy to) it would appear he's gradually becoming obsessed and losing his grip on reality.
I'll try this. Thanks



I'll try this. Thanks
Be advised AMH, Oh God is an uplifting, feel good comedy with George Burns playing God. So if you're looking for something darker, this is not it. (Didn't want to give the wrong impression.)

Also, you might want to look into movies about Vincent Van Gogh (there's a few, but the best known is Kirk Douglas's Lust For Life). They are sad testimonies to the real life artist who was a creative genius and had an obsession to do good in the world, but who, through great passions, tumultuous friendships, broken hearts (and possibly even lead poisoning from licking paint brushes) gradually went insane.