Mad to Be Normal

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Movie Info

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

Genre:

drama, history, biography
Original Language:

English (United Kingdom)
Director:

Robert Mullan
Producer:

Charlotte Arden, Phin Glynn, Alan Latham
Writer:

Robert Mullan, Tracy Moreton
Release Date (Streaming):

Feb 16, 2018
Runtime:

1h 46m
Production Co:

Gizmo Films

Cast & Crew

David Tennant
R.D. Laing

Elisabeth Moss
Angie Wood

Michael Gambon
Sydney Kotok

Gabriel Byrne
Jim

David Bamber
Dr. Meredith

Trevor White
Bryan

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Critic Reviews for Mad to Be Normal

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (9)

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.

April 9, 2017 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
It's elevated above bog-standard biopic fare by the performances.

April 7, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Ed Potton
Times (UK)
David Tennant is on pugnacious, mercurial and beady-eyed form in this very interesting and absorbing film.

April 7, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
Mad to Be Normal boils a fascinating subject down into a slightly clunky, simplistic bio-drama.

April 3, 2017 | Full Review…

Stephen Dalton
Hollywood Reporter
Tennant's performance is strong, and he gives energy to a script that jolts in different directions looking for focus.

April 3, 2017 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Dave Calhoun
Time Out
There's an almost complete absence of narrative progression, or anything that helps you to understand why this needed to be a feature film and not, say, a radio play or a magazine longread.

April 2, 2017 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

David Jenkins
Little White Lies
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.

August 16, 2020 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Roger Moore
Movie Nation
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.

November 30, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Sarah Cartland
Caution Spoilers
Mad to Be Normal is an enthralling drama about a man who was both misunderstood and misguided.

October 30, 2018 | Full Review…

Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
More illuminating as a character study, with the ever-charismatic Tennant showing how Laing was able to dominate those around him so easily.

August 23, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Alison Rowat
The Herald (Scotland)
Mad to Be Normal takes the life story of someone who defied norms in every aspect of his life and then squeezes said story into a traditional biopic. What should have been a film vibrating with Laing's unique energy ends up being unengaging.

August 22, 2018 | Full Review…

Lee Jutton
Film Inquiry
Mad To Be Normal lingers well after the credits have finished rolling.

August 20, 2018 | Full Review…

Rosalynn Try-Hane
Battle Royale With Cheese

View All Critic Reviews (23)

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