The Country Girl.
Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, William Holden.
Bing Crosby plays an alcoholic with Oscar-worthy subtlety and depth. The disease is portrayed with great understanding, as is co-dependency by Grace Kelly as his tortured wife. Bill Holden is the third corner of this dysfunctional triad, set in an era of different sexual mores and gender power relationships. The past really is another country, and it's necessary to remember that watching a film like this.
Oh, and you get to hear Bing's liquid gold singing voice, which is always a real treat.
You'd not see such an accurate and un-Hollywooded portrayal of an issue like that these days. Silver Linings Playbook, for instance, which kind of shows what life is like with a serious mental illness, but it's still a bit 'nicey nicey'. Take it from me, living with a psychotic person can break you, and nobody really comes close in 'Playbook'. Whereas Country Girl is all about being broken.
What a great movie. How did they manage to get Grace to look so dowdy? When to me, she has always been the epitome of '50s poise, glamour and beauty. Maybe it's just that she can really act.