11 Oedipal Films

What movies would you add to this list?

The Oedipus Complex is one of Freud’s most controversial (and to many, disturbing) ideas. In publishing a story about the Oedipus Complex, MILFs, and more, the TAP team put together a list of movies to write home to Mom about. How many have you seen, and what would you add to the list?

• Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

• Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster, 2023)

• Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2005)

• The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)

• Hamlet (Franco Zeffirelli, 1990)

• Luna (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1979)

• Murmur of the Heart (Louis Malle, 1971)

• Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)

• Spanking the Monkey (David O. Russell, 1994)

• To Die For (Gus Van Sant, 1995)

The latest entry is Beau is Afraid (2023), a surreal story about the protagonist’s relationship to his mother with multiple notable bedroom scenes. Image courtesy A24.

Hey, cinephiles! Check out

• TAP’s rundown of depictions of Freud in film

• Our review of Freud’s Last Session starring Anthony Hopkins

• Deep cuts of male masochism in film