''Mad to Be Normal'' is a 2017 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Robert Mullan Robert Mullan (also Bob Mullan) is a British film director, writer and producer. He is also an author. He wrote and directed '' Letters to Sofija'', ''Gitel'' and ''We Will Sing''. He has produced over 40 documentaries, for the BBC, Granada, An ...

and written by Robert Mullan and Tracy Moreton. The film stars

David Tennant David John Tennant ('' né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the ...

, Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne,

Michael Gambon Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...

David Bamber David James Bamber (born 19 September 1954) is an English actor. He has worked in television and theatre. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Early years Bamber was born in Walkden, Lancashire. By September 1973, he was ...

, Olivia Poulet and Trevor White. The film was released on 6 April 2017 by GSP Studios International.

Plot

The film portrays the story of Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing. Working out of

Kingsley Hall Kingsley Hall is a community centre, in Powis Road, Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East End of London. It dates back to the work of Doris and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, ...

in East London throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Laing performed various experiments on people diagnosed as mentally disturbed. His unconventional methods included a form of self-healing known as

metanoia Metanoia, an Ancient Greek word (μετάνοια) meaning "changing one's mind", may refer to: * Metanoia (psychology), the process of experiencing a psychotic "breakdown" and subsequent, positive psychological re-building or "healing" * Metanoia ...

, causing controversy in the medical profession and later radically changing perceptions of mental health around the world.

Cast

as R. D. Laing * Elisabeth Moss as Angie Wood * Gabriel Byrne as Jim *

as Sydney Kotok *

as Dr. Meredith * Olivia Poulet as Maria * Trevor White as Bryan * Rebecca Gethings as Jane Simons *Nigel Barber as Dr. Bloom *Caitlin Innes Edwards as Mrs. Kotok * Adam Paul Harvey as Paul Zemmell *Jerome Holder as John Holding *Kelby Keenan as Olivia Kennan *James Utechin as Sam *Helen Belbin as Amelia *Lydia Orange as Sarah *Matthew Jure as Richard Long *Jamie Edgerton as Barman *Darren Whitfield as Cockney *Alex Walton as Sean *Tom Richards as Raymond * Linda Hargreaves as Mrs. Holding *Isaac Benn as R. D.Laing as a Child *Aaron Taylor as Pieter Kotok *Alexandra Finnie as Suzie Laing *Declan Wilson as Mr. Holding *Lanna Joffrey as Eleanor Goodhart *Maya Chesca Miles as Fran Klein *Sam Booth as Alex *Lucie Glynn as Joan *Ruby Winter as Karen Laing *Cia Allan as Mrs. Walker *Redford Glynn as Baby Gabriel *Wendy Barrett as Anne Laing *Peter F. Gardiner as David Laing *Nicola Kemp-Simonds as Nina

Release

The film premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival on 26 February 2017. The film was released on 6 April 2017 by GSP Studios International.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 22 reviews, and an average rating of 6.3/10.

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, mad_to_be_normal 2017 films 2017 drama films British drama films Films about psychiatry 2010s English-language films 2010s British films