This film is part of Rentals
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/mad-to-be-normal1B.jpg?itok=DGe3T1IF)
Mad to Be Normal
David Tennant is inspired as the renegade Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing, whose unorthodox therapeutic ideas chime with the radical spirit of 1960s counterculture.
Director: Robert Mullan
Overview
David Tennant is inspired as R.D. Laing, the renegade Scottish psychiatrist whose radical ideas on mental illness outraged the 1960s medical establishment. Robert Mullan's unshackled biopic focuses on Laing's establishment of Kingsley Hall therapy centre in East London, where schizophrenics are encouraged to talk through their experiences and LSD is the preferred prescription.
As Kingsley Hall becomes the epicentre of Laing's ideas around freedom, its libertarian ethos seems to chime perfectly with the counterculture climate of 1960s Britain. But the more immersed he becomes in the project, the more his personal life begins to deteriorate.
Tennant is exceptional playing a very different doctor to the one with which he made his name, but a character just as singularly memorable. And Laing's story is further brought to life by a series of excellent supporting turns from Elisabeth Moss, Michael Gambon and Gabriel Byrne as the doctor's acolytes and patients.
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rafiki1_0.jpg?itok=zpdLQV5y)
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/2073-1.jpg?itok=UUYmG8Zc)
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/who-we-love-01.jpg?itok=ovWlqLp7)
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Only-the-River-Flows-04.jpg?itok=sZtVwqWT)
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/critic2.jpg?itok=v9giIHFC)
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/special-people-01_0.jpeg?itok=_Ifbrsnt)
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/The%2520Party-Kristin-Scott-Thomas.jpg?itok=4Fe-Lfxk)
The Party The Party
Comedy 2017 71 mins Director: Sally Potter
Following some unexpected revelations, a celebration quickly takes a turn for the worse in Sally Potter's razor-sharp comedy.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/stalin1.jpg?itok=vPVj6sH-)
The Death of Stalin The Death of Stalin
Comedy 2017 107 mins Director: Armando Iannucci
Chaos and comedy ignite in Armando Iannucci’s acerbic satire, as Soviet officials frantically react to the passing of their glorious leader.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/florida-project-crop3.jpg?itok=x9MbAkSe)
The Florida Project The Florida Project
Drama 2017 112 mins Director: Sean Baker
Tangerine director Sean Baker presents another visionary take on the wild ups and dangerous downs of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/loveless-1920-1.jpg?itok=E9uowiVL)
Loveless Loveless
Drama 2017 127 mins Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/beast-1.jpg?itok=ikJYGp5H)
Beast Beast
Drama 2018 106 mins Director: Michael Pearce
The hunt for a Jersey serial killer sparks a dangerous awakening in a young woman (Jessie Buckley, in her feature debut) in this astonishing psycho-sexual thriller, which sets all the senses aflame.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/lucky%2520-%2520fixed.jpg?itok=v78nyniK)
Lucky Lucky
Comedy 2016 88 mins Director: John Carroll Lynch
Harry Dean Stanton gives the performance of a lifetime as an irascible nonagenarian maverick grappling with his mortality.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/rafiki1_0.jpg?itok=zpdLQV5y)
Rafiki Rafiki
Drama 2018 83 mins Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Romantic sparks fly between the daughters of two opposing politicians in Wanuri Kahiu’s neon-bright story of forbidden love in Kenya.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/luxor2.jpg?itok=RtvEwHXF)
Luxor Luxor
Romance 2020 86 mins Director: Zeina Durra
Andrea Riseborough stars as an aid worker processing the trauma of working on the frontline on the Jordanian-Syrian border.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/2073-1.jpg?itok=UUYmG8Zc)
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/who-we-love-01.jpg?itok=ovWlqLp7)
Who We Love Who We Love
Drama 2021 94 mins Director: Graham Cantwell
Bullied for her sexuality, Dublin schoolgirl Lily turns to her gay best friend for support in this vibrant coming-out, coming-of-age drama.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Kathleen-Is-Here-05.jpg?itok=W1ex7u1c)
Kathleen Is Here Kathleen Is Here
Thriller 2023 95 mins Director: Eva Birthistle
Riveting debut from acclaimed Irish actor Eva Birthistle, about a young care leaver on a destructive path to find a new mother figure.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/BLACK-DOG-01_0.jpg?itok=zJgk9aNj)
Black Dog Black Dog
Thriller 2024 110 mins Director: Guan Hu
An ex-con is sent to catch stray dogs in the Gobi Desert in Guan Hu’s picturesque, Cannes prize-winning, canine caper.