Mental Health in Sabrina (1954)

Today my local library branch showed the romantic comedy Sabrina (1954.)

Two clips stood out to me within the context of September being Suicide Prevention Month,

But I recognize I have no idea what the original intent was by the filmmakers.

Note:

I will be describing two clips from the film

The clips reference or show suicidal ideation, but are not graphic

In addition there are no major spoilers since neither clip is key to the film's plot.

Sabrina's Suicidal Ideation

Pretty early in the film, Sabrina's suicidal ideation is portrayed in a "Romeo and Juliet," aka young people don't know how to handle "big feelings," way. While it is not played for laughs exactly, it is portrayed in a relatively lighthearted way, gets resolved quickly, and seems to be forgotten by everyone. (And yes, I really want to know what happened to the suicide note she slid under her father's door right before the above clip, which is never referenced by anyone.)

  

Linus's Suicidal Ideation

(You can start at 1:55)

Much later in the film, Linus mentions his own previous brief suicidal ideation. Most likely in the film this conversation is intended to simply show Sabrina that Linus really has a heart and has felt "big feelings" in the past. But this brief scene added to the film and felt like the start of a slightly more meaningful conversation around suicidal ideation.

  

Suicidal Ideation in Conversation

Sabrina's and Linus's suicidal ideation put together felt like a deeper conversation around how anyone can experience intrusive thoughts/suicidal ideation. It does not matter if you are young or old, female or male (or nonbinary, but the film was made in the 50s, so it's pretty binary in its portrayal), emotional or serious, a chauffeur's daughter or an elder son running a major business conglomerate.

In addition, from what I know of the 1950s (when the film was made), male-identified individuals often did not discuss their mental health with others, let alone discuss suicidal ideation seriously in films (yes, sometimes mental health was represented, but more often as a punch line or joke at the expense of male-identified characters who did not meet the societal expectations for masculine individuals).

While I know that mental health and suicidal ideation are neither the main focus of this film nor does the film really go too in-depth around these subjects (and I know moving to France is not the universal cure for suicidal ideation), I was pleasantly surprised to have the topic shown at all, let alone relatively well, in a 1950s romantic comedy.