THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY

"I haven’t seen my analyst in two hundred years and…he was a strict Freudian, and if I’d been going all this time I’d probably almost be cured by now."
-Miles Monroe/Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

The Obsessive-Compulsive Personality - A pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control - at the expense of flexibility, openness and efficiency. Beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

Three Films That Got It Right...
SAY ANYTHING - In Say Anything, Diane Court is a girl who, when introduced at her graduation ceremony by her teacher, is summed up with the words, "history [dramatic pause], oceanography [dramatic pause], creative writing [big dramatic pause], biochemistry...I think you know who I'm talking about." Diane is her achievements, and during her speech she is a veritable orchard of apples of the collected parents' eyes. Her greatest achievement is her role as her father's daughter. This is more important to her than her summer university courses, her after school job in the Home for the Aged - greater than her fellowship to study in England. She has succeeded academically beyond either of their wildest dreams and devoted her life to her father's rigid plan for success. What she had not planned for was love. Enter Lloyd Dobler, a young man with far more hormones than dendrites. Dobler is prone to goofy adolescent antics and has, as his only goal in life, being devoted to Diane (that and becoming a professional kick boxer). Diane's father worries, and bitterly notes that what Diane is about to do with the less than ennobled Lloyd Dobler, is lose her foothold in superior standing and "learn to champion mediocrity."
LOST IN AMERICA - David Howard is an advertising executive agonizing over his hyper-responsibility so that he can get a promotion to the vice-presidency. David finds himself passed over yet again and spontaneously - uncharacteristically spontaneously - quits his job. He and his wife, Linda - likewise leading a career-centric life - decide to get Lost In America. David has calculated to the penny what their savings will allow for and what their house will bring on the market. After poring over enough information on motor homes to shame the Library of Congress, he and Linda head first to Las Vegas to renew their wedding vows before embarking on lives of the free-spirited. Unfortunately, Linda has an unanticipated gambling problem. She leaves their heart-shaped second honeymoon bed in the middle of the night to gamble away their nest egg. They are left broke, forlorn, and perhaps a bit too free and unburdened for David's taste and disposition.
AS GOOD AS IT GETS - In As Good As It Gets, Melvin Udall is a writer of torrid, bodice-ripping romance novels. His personal life, however, is very different from his professional one as he keeps the world at a very safe distance. He successfully keeps himself isolated by employing his abrasive personality. A personality he has carefully, over the years, fashioned into a blunt instrument. When a nubile fan gushes over his work and asks him how he writes women so well, he responds by telling her that he "[thinks] of a man, then I take away reason and accountability." He refers to his gay neighbor, Simon, as a "fag" whom "nances" around. He clears his favorite table at a restaurant by telling the Jewish patrons that, "…[their] appetites weren't as big as their noses."

Melvin's life is one of intense ritual, orderliness, and control. He refuses to touch anything public, or let anyone touch him. While walking down a crowded sidewalk, he valiantly fights to not step on any cracks. He will go to great lengths in his need to remain ordered. Lengths that include paying the medical bills for the ill son of the neighborhood restaurant waitress, Carol. An act of selfish generosity on his part, done for no other reason than to allow Carol to continue to serve him in the only restaurant where he will eat. This, not surprisingly, leads to a shattering of his ordered world when, once he has let her in, he falls in love with her.
S.O.B.
Intense, inflexible, rigid, righteous, orderly, controlling, stubborn, miserly. The Obsessive-Compulsive Personality is all of these and more. Although this might make for a rigid and colorless person, it often makes for interesting (if not the friendliest) screen characters.

Be forewarned: the Obsessive-Compulsive can be (along with colorless and rigid) terribly annoying. To conceive and develop such a character runs the same risks. Hard-lining the diagnostic criteria for the Obsessive-Compulsive will most likely create a character few people are going to sit down and put up with. When the individuals involved are up to the challenge (as in the case of As Good As It Gets), the rewards can well be worth the tricky footing.

Other notable portrayals of the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality that have found their way to the silver screen occur in the drama/adventure The Mosquito Coast (in which an Obsessive-Compulsive character is driven to play God); Woody Allen's icy Interiors (also severely depressed and suicidal); and David Mamet's wonderfully edgy and poetic gambling tome, House of Games.

Of particular note here: gambling (as a compulsion) may be for many an addiction issue more than a personality trait, but it is also a central fixation with many Obsessive-Compulsives. Along with Mamet’s steely story there are several extraordinarily well-drawn high-rolling tales. Take for example the 1974 Karl Reisz directed/James Toback scripted The Gambler-a story that starts off looking like a pure and simple study in character before it takes a surprising turn. That same year also gave us California Split. Robert Altman directs a script by Joseph Walsh and delivers one of the best takes on the nature of obsessions and compulsions.

Gambling and the seemingly uncontrollable essence of chance may seem an odd behavioral pattern for someone described as ridged, controlling, or miserly. Quite often it is, but it is important to remember that under the façade of lady luck, gambling actually is not a game of luck. It is a game of math, calculated moves, and defined perimeters-a set of scientific laws that are unequivocally set in stone. It is a precisely ordered world that the Obsessive-Compulsive individual can understand completely. Their success or failure is reliant only on their knowledge and ability to act on it. Luck has nothing to do with it. As the intensely realized 1998 gambling film, Rounders, points out: “If it’s luck, how come the same men play for the world championship every year?”

OCP vs. OCD
The Obsessive-Compulsive Personality (OCP) has, in the clinical world, a sibling. This psychological twin is known as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD is a more serious condition specifically involving behavior that is excessively intrusive (sometimes life threatening) to daily life.

What exactly is the difference?

An Obsessive-Compulsive Personality has issues with such things as orderliness, control, and efficiency. Pervasive thoughts, excessive worries, and repetitive behaviors (the counting, the checking, and the rituals) control the individual with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

David Howard (Lost In America) behaves frequently in the manner of an Obsessive-Compulsive Personality. At the other end of the playing field (some might argue another stadium) is Melvin Udall (As Good As It Gets). Melvin seems to be swimming toward the deep end of the pool (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Debate could ensue here as to whether Melvin is or is not OCD. There is little doubt that Melvin’s obsessive tendencies are more pronounced than the obsessive tendencies of a David Howard or a Diane Court. Melvin does display the repetitive behaviors (counting, checking, rituals), but he is far from disabled or impeded by his odd characteristics. True OCD would involve individuals who behave in such ways that they spend hours locking and unlocking a door, tying and retying shoes, circling a room in a specific pattern-unable to go about their daily lives in a truly functional manner. More serious may be the individuals who may actually harm themselves, as do people who wash their hands repetitively to the point of bleeding.

Although clinically the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are distinct, for purposes of inspiring creativity, characteristics from both will be reviewed here in order to achieve a more practical understanding.

The name is fairly self-descriptive: Obsessive-they have persistent thoughts; and Compulsive-they perform persistent actions. For the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality, there is a pervasive preoccupation with orderliness (both the physical and the emotional), perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control. This usually happens at the expense of flexibility, openness and efficiency. It can also be construed that this means at the expense of others as well. Friendships are usually in short supply. The Obsessive-Compulsive's excessive fear of physical harm or the desire to control anxiety leads to compulsive behavior. These behavioral patterns include such things as the constant washing of hands, hoarding, unnecessary and minutely precise cataloguing, the following of precise and torturous routes to prevent harm, magical thinking, and ritualistic behavior. With such ritualistic behavior the rituals must be completed in exact sequence and painstaking detail, such as the tying and retying of shoelaces or the specific-numbered circling of a room or object.

At one time or another, everyone is obsessive about something. Everyone has moments when they are compulsive. For the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality, the thoughts, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems. Melvin Udall’s (As Good As It Gets) repetitive behavior-the rituals, the obsession with cleanliness and order, the checking, the counting-consists of acts that are not connected in any realistic way with what they are designed to do or prevent. They are clearly excessive. Albert Brooks’s obsessive character in Lost In America seems mild in comparison, displaying behavioral signs found more toward the fringe.

Perfectionist. Controlling. Obsessive-Compulsive Personalities love order and discipline and are organized around thinking and doing as opposed to feeling. They place high value on their abilities as problem solvers and their logical faculties. Say Anything's Diane is synonymous with the classes in which she excels. Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) in The Mosquito Coast obstinately believes he knows what is right for his family. He never bothers to discuss with his wife or children the fact that they are leaving the comforts of American civilization for the hardships of an untamed jungle. Obsessive-Compulsives feel they must exact extreme control over themselves or risk losing control altogether. They are consciously aware that they must impose rigid order to conform to the societal ideals of personhood: hardworking, morally unimpeachable, and responsible to the point of paralysis.

To do this (to overachieve, hyper-accomplish) they must ignore their intuition and impulse. By using sheer will and stymieing self-control, they regulate and proscribe that which cannot be controlled or proscribed. They regulate drives (sex), spontaneous emotions (love), as well as common, everyday, household impulses. This control also bleeds beyond the boundaries of their selves and into the environment. Here they also prefer to be in control-where they eat, where they walk, who they encounter. Thus, these characters are often realized as controlling and exacting. They want others to bend to their wishes and appear very unreasonable if such wants are not granted. They function very well at work, but have difficulty in their off hours and home lives, where the structure is less rigid. Eve (Interiors) offers to buy new cologne for her son-in-law so that she might change his scent to something she feels better suits him. Allie Fox (Mosquito Coast) forces his family-no questions asked-to an uncivilized jungle and buys himself a ramshackle town.

The Overseer
Obsessive-Compulsives do not always see themselves as free agents. They often are saddled (as though with their own personal ghosts) with their own overseer who issues commands, demands, warnings, and admonitions. Consider this overseer the “Spirit of Proper Conduct Ever Present”. A vital presence in their life that leads them to behave rigidly so it satisfies some objective necessity, some social imperative. We all, hopefully, have a voice in our head (our overseer) that tells us what is right from wrong. Still, those afflicted with this behavioral pattern rarely experience it in such absolute terms. This demanding overseer phenomenology may be perceived as being internal or external to Obsessive-Compulsives, who feel they have no free will. Their free will has been given over to “the agent” so they might feel safe or successful. When this agent's commands become more bizarre and alien (such as the exotic counting, repeating, cleanliness), the Obsessive-Compulsive actually perceives them that way-bizarre and alien. They do not actually assimilate the commands. They are driven, all the same, to obey. Compulsively. The gambling buddies of California Split, Bill and Charlie (with highlight performances by George Segal and Elliott Gould), gamble on death itself, regardless of logic or safety. Mugged for their gambling money a second time, they proceed to challenge the mugger-they want him to bet against if they are telling the truth and have honestly given him all their money.

The Obsessive-Compulsive character tries not to offend the overseer. Instead, he must appease authority (be it parental, societal, religious, or political) in order to avoid retribution or censure. Allie Fox (Mosquito Coast) blindly forges ahead in the name of the “Great New World” he is creating. He is listening to a voice-clearly not that of family and friends. Melvin's rituals equal his success. Diane is the proud daughter. Not surprisingly, all of these particular dynamics are put to their individual tests. This retribution or censure would be the highest form of punishment of all. So he is submissive to authority, and authoritarian to subordinates. He is over-conscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values. He is highly critical and apt to wield cruel power without guilt. Diane, worshipful of her father, does not hesitate to excoriate Lloyd for his lack of ambition and for his views, which she believes are "ageist." Allie Fox sermonizes, lectures; he babbles to himself, his family, and anyone passing by about the moral decay of America and the evils of modern civilization. This litany (never actually directed at anyone) obsessively pours out of him. It quickly takes on the disquieting feel of a lost, religious chant-a mass-being offered to a greater power. It is a mantra from which his strength and fortitude are born.
In-Check
Obsessive-Compulsives have a surfeit of self-doubt and are mercilessly self-critical. They often display levels of perfectionism that interfere with task completion; they therefore are unable to complete a project because their own excessively strict standards are not met. It is easy for the viewer to understand why David Howard (Lost In America) is passed over for promotions. Although he may be next in line as far as longevity within the company, his timidity and indecision socially hobble him. He exhibits no leadership abilities, only a remarkable flair for second-guessing himself. "Is this normal?" Diane asks Lloyd when he attempts to teach her how to drive a car with a stick shift. She is worried that she might fail, or not succeed in a standard, approved way.

This self-doubt and self-criticism causes Obsessive-Compulsives to keep their lives highly organized. They prefer organization thrust upon them-then they return the favor to others-without the burden of the anxiety that the rules sprang from anything questionable within themselves. They are reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others who do not submit to exactly their way of doing things. The building of Allie Fox's jungle utopia in The Mosquito Coast occurs because Allie believes that only he is the architect of their salvation. There is the clear impression from Allie that he believes the motivation for building this New World village is coming by way of decree from someone (something) bigger than himself. Be it hauling his family off to the ends of the earth, telling the natives to clear a dense jungle hillside, or an exhausting trek across the mountains to show off a giant ice cube-Allie's motives and reasoning are not to be questioned or challenged. Her daughter sums up Eve, the disciplined, manipulative mother in Woody Allen’s Interiors: "She created a world around us that we existed in. Where everything had its place. An ice palace."

The pressure (and resultant tension) to do, feel, and think in the right and correct way is pervasive and constant. Not only does Diane (Say Anything) miss her vacations to take college courses, but her teenage room is decorated with maps and anatomical charts instead of posters of teenage idols. She keeps a model of a brain handy, as well as a massive dictionary in which she marks each word for which she looks up the meaning. To no surprise, every page has multiple marks.

These individuals often try to stay perpetually busy, cognitively and behaviorally. The reason for this is to inhibit any spontaneous thought or action. To do this they focus their attention narrowly and invest a great deal of their energy in details. When David Howard (Lost In America) is choosing the free and easy life that is afforded with the motorhome lifestyle, he first has to study the exact specifications of every mechanical detail of every vehicle-comparing all the options. He explores this trivia with such great zeal that an expert salesman would be stumped-all the while he completely ignores the most important consideration of such a purchase: is it fun and comfortable? This focus on detail is intense and sharp and unwavering. Unfortunately, there is often no priority given, and the Obsessive-Compulsive will bestow equal (and equally grave) importance on the tiniest of inconsequential matters as he will on the bigger considerations. Preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, and schedules, Obsessive-Compulsives often miss the major by focusing on the minor. Eve (Interiors) arranges and rearranges a series of bedside vases. First front to back, then back to front, and so on. All the while, her husband of thirty-some years is walking out of her life. In truth, she spends most of the film arranging and rearranging inanimate objects such as pictures and lamps-all the while her family's emotional core collapsing around her.

The fear of error and the anxiety over imperfection can keep Obsessive-Compulsives focused solely on the peripheral. They are kept busy, but may never attain success or completion. Say Anything's Diane is extremely involved with high achievement in her scholastic endeavors. When it comes to building a life outside of school, she says (in her speech to her graduating class), "I have glimpsed the future, and all I can say is . . . go back!" School is definitely a lot safer place to be with its strict rules and schedules. Equally, Diane has a fear of flying that is briefly played on in the story. It is as much about the fear of putting her future (safety) in the hands of others-a defining moment at the end of the film. A very nice touch-never over accentuated by screenwriter Cameron Crowe.

Obsessive-Compulsives often ruin things by overcorrecting. Their self-doubt leads them to check and recheck each and every detail. This pattern spurs them to become mired in a morass of unimportant specifics. Their insecurity over possible error or overlooked flaws-their need to insure that they remain proper in the eyes of all overseers and their compulsion to ensure that they stay out of trouble at all costs-can in fact lead them directly into trouble. Diane's constant and careful weighing of each situation and the innumerable pros and cons of each option often result in her being stymied, miserable, and impotent. Little is accomplished because there is excessive wavering and deliberation over the most arcane details. Diane has prided herself in being the perfect daughter and telling her father every detail of her life. So much so that she discusses the ins and outs of losing her virginity the night before to Lloyd. One can easily imagine that it will somewhat complicate this particular triad. As much as David Howard (Lost In America) wants to organize every mile of their road to the future in the hope of avoiding pitfalls, he most assuredly creates the ones that snag him. In As Good As It Gets, Melvin agrees to a road trip with Simon and Carol and all the trouble that he is convinced will come with such an outing. Melvin realizes straying so far from his regimented routine is only courting disaster. Yet he does it, not to help out Simon, but because he seeks approval in Carol's eyes.
Out of Sync
It is often the case that Obsessive-Compulsives gain more pleasure from being busy than from actually bringing something to fruition. For all their self-driving and blundered focus on working and doing, they oftentimes do not get much done. Also, completion means decision. It means potential judgment, potential failure. They may refrain from making any decision out of fear of making the wrong one.

The Obsessive-Compulsive's pattern of rigidity persists in the face of repeated failure or apparent absurdity. Melvin (As Good As It Gets) is absolutely aware of the ridiculous act of going to great lengths to avoid stepping on cracks. When Verdell the dog starts imitating him and doing likewise, Melvin gently scolds him: "Don't be like me. You stay just the way you are 'cause you're a perfect man." When the New World civilization along the Mosquito Coast is destroyed and Allie Fox has subjected his family to near death at the hands of starvation and hurricanes, he still insists on "going upstream! Only dead things go downstream!" Stubborn, obstinate, they will continually forge ahead with fruitless behavior merely because they are convinced that it's the correct and proper way of doing things.

The Obsessive-Compulsive is many times the easiest personality type to spot from a distance. Their rigidity of thought and behavior often can be seen in their posture and dress. They appear rigid, tense, implacable, and unapproachable. In her opening scene, Eve (Interiors) enters wearing a shapeless yet refined outfit that she says the designer refers to as "ice gray.” Well chosen to describe both her disposition and the effect she has on those around her. On their first date, Diane wears an anachronistic white dress, ornate flower arrangement in her hair, and a white shawl. She wears this to go to a high school keg party. Her dress, like her life, is out of sync with everything around her. This self-restriction extends to all aspects of their being-not only posture, attire, and style are affected, but also their finances. They tend to be frugal, parsimonious. They hold themselves and their possessions tightly reined. They often adopt a miserly spending style toward both themselves and others. Money is viewed as something to be hoarded against future catastrophes.

Obsessive-Compulsives do not devote much time to what most people would call the pursuit of pleasure from things, because these activities are not rationally driven. They are exceedingly devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships. They do this because they do not trust the feelings this pleasure brings. They do not trust themselves. They fear freedom, especially the responsibility that freedom brings. When they are free of one concern, it is not unusual for them to immediately shift their focus to the next concern. Dr. Margaret Ford (House of Games) is admonished time and again by her wiser and older mentor, Dr. Littauer. She informs Dr. Ford that she needs to relax, enjoy life, and visit her friends. Good advice . . . none of which Dr. Ford heeds. It is not until the doctor suggests she begin writing a new book that Margaret Ford pays attention, doing exactly what the doctor ordered. Losing herself in work is something to which Dr. Ford can relate-anything but reflect upon her own self. Melvin begins to open up and he starts to care for those around him. First, he finds a soft spot in his heart for Verdell the dog. Soon after, there appears to be room for Carol and Simon. He becomes uneasy and a little frightened. He runs (uncharacteristically against his schedule) to see his psychiatrist. He is falling into irrational love and the attendant novelty and unstableness threaten to capsize his life.

Tightly Fisted Emotions
Obsessive-Compulsives must keep their lives tightly bound to avoid a surge of untoward and potentially harmful impulses-impulses are seen as damaging, baneful, and are to be nipped at the roots. Impulses are unacceptable, case closed. They include such normal, healthy responses as sexual urges, aggression, competitive and spontaneous emotions, and all the other railings that are contained within (and define) the human soul. Allie Fox (The Mosquito Coast) sadly proclaims at the end of his journey of ruin: "Nature's crooked. I wanted right angles, straight lines." The avoidance of irresponsibility is the adherence to sanctioned responsibility. The only way to deal with negative feelings is control. Because they distrust their feelings en masse, these characters must be designed to channel all of their attention into thinking and doing. They block their emotions and become righteous for it. Allie Fox, in order not to deal with his family's feelings about returning to the United States and the personal ramifications of what is going on, lies and tells them that America has been destroyed in a nuclear war. He is their only hope. Attention is focused on the abstract, strict rules of conduct set forth by morally irreproachable institutions, and they expound these principles and rules. This shifting is indicative of the way Obsessive-Compulsive Personalities think. They strive to live life at arm's length, to keep life organized and intellectualized. Genuine interest and joy are suppressed.

Play, fun, humor: Obsessive-Compulsives rarely take to them. These things lack boundaries. Feelings are childish, weak, and show a lack of control and organization. Recreation is a sign of weakness and displays a lack of fortitude. Allie Fox's young twin girls joyously show him the old bicycle they have uncovered in the jungle. Fox immediately turns it into a pedal-pushing device for an automated washing machine. Soon, pumping those pedals in true sweatshop fashion, are his carrot-top twins. Woody Allen's character Alvy Singer (Annie Hall) would appear to be a likely prototype of the overwrought, compulsive Eve of Interiors. Released a year prior to Interiors, Allen’s Annie Hall was originally entitled Anhedonia (which means the lack of capacity for experiencing pleasure).

Common strengths of Obsessive-Compulsive characters are that they are dependable, reliable, practical, precise, and honest-brutally honest. Often apparent are their high standards and strict ethical values; that they are rational, detailed, and disciplined thinkers. The Obsessive-Compulsive Personality excels at exacting professions such as accounting, law, technology, and research-careers that focus on detail rather than creativity and intuition. Melvin Udall has finished his 62nd novel. Obviously, they are successful books, but how creative any of them are is never revealed. His novels (as with his rituals at his front door) are most likely a series of patterns that he performs over and over again-to considerable success and financial reward. The price paid for their precision and practical output is a sacrifice of the spontaneity and experience of creativity.

The most common emotion that the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality will display is anger. Their anger stems from their perceived oppression by external forces and rules, which they believe they must follow to the letter. Anger is also one of those unpleasant, unnecessary things known as emotions. Thus, when they become aware of it, it serves as further proof to them that suppressed inside their very being is a seething cauldron of unpleasant impulses. Should those impulses find release, it could spell ruination. Anger is acceptable in Obsessive-Compulsive characters if seen as justified and reasonable. Melvin can be brazenly anti-Semitic, telling a "table of Jews" to "shampoo my crotch.” He feels justified in this because they are sitting at his table. They have broken the rules of his rigid world and are guilty of transgression. Allie Fox's response to his young son's crying and desperate plea to leave their dangerous world is to bring down upon the youngster a zealot-like wrath. At the onset of a fierce tropical storm, he damns the child and orders the helpless boy to "get out and never return!"

These individuals usually hold themselves above others because they can keep their needy and lustful aggressive parts in check. There is little doubt that Allie Fox is playing God along the Mosquito Coast. He brazenly thinks he knows better than modern civilization-more than the jungle natives. Dr. Ford (House of Games) drives alone to a dark and seedy area of town and enters the world of con men and gambling with no fear of the consequences because she considers herself a superior human being. Fear would be an emotion, and she is smarter than that. Obsessive-Compulsives take pride and consider themselves special because of such stringent self-control. Unfortunately, what is warded off can eventually intrude. Hence, the Third Act plot turn is created for Mr. Mamet's hard-boiled gambling story.

It takes a great deal of psychic energy to keep emotions squelched inside oneself-a condition that results is constant tension and anxiety. The more Obsessive-Compulsives fear emotions, the more they ward off that aspect of themselves. Any energy they give to that suppression means more opportunities and possibilities for dramatic and tense crises. There is also insecurity over being able to maintain the compulsion. Sometimes these demonic emotions do intrude in the form of sexual or violent thoughts-such as the tragic turn of events in The Mosquito Coast, as well as Eve's (Interiors) icy embrace with the unforgiving sea.

The more compulsive the character, the more prone he will be to jump into action without considering alternatives. This happens through fear of idleness and through fear of censure for not accomplishing. When Allie Fox watches his greatest creation destroyed (the heart of his utopia), he exclaims, "I'm happy! We're free!" He immediately moves on, never looking back, never addressing the painful emotions the destruction of his God/child/monster has brought. This type of impulsiveness (which is rarely constructive or creative) is at the center of their self-esteem-and their self-esteem stems from doing. With those who are more obsessive, self-esteem comes from thinking.
Relationships
Relationships are problematic for Obsessive-Compulsives. Melvin Udall, Eve, Allie Fox, Dr. Ford, Diane Court-none of these characters are portrayed as having a single close friend. Obsessive-Compulsives are known to keep their relationships at a formal level, strictly coded. To this, they generally can be counted on to formally adhere. They also expect such adherence will be reciprocated. Emotionally, they are atrophied. They have carefully cultivated a restrained and constricted manner. Obsessive-Compulsives have so subsumed their access to emotions that genuine feelings are difficult to access. Their social behavior is often stilted, emphasizing only the proper, prescribed rules of conduct. They therefore can appear distant, pedantic, self-possessed.

A fine example can be found in Say Anything. Diane gives in to what she anticipates will be the needs of Lloyd on an upcoming date. Before she goes on the fateful date she has pre-analyzed the event. Theoretically, she knows the time has come in their dating process in which young Lloyd's burgeoning manhood can no longer be held off at a distance. Diane decides to give in to him, not wanting “any problems." In her role as the high school girlfriend, she is compelled to succumb. When Lloyd's hormones do mull over the possibility of "no," she in turn attacks him. Diane believes she must experience the teenage sexual angst for which the situation calls because that is what the situation traditionally entails. Therefore, that is what she will have. This is also a great example of feelings that have been kept bubbling inside-erupting more dangerously because they have been pressurized through denial.

The interpersonal relationships of Obsessive-Compulsive characters regularly reflect either submission to authority or authoritarianism over subordinates. These strictly proscribed roles are often imposed on the domestic circle as well. When Linda loses their hard-earned lifetime savings in a night of gambling, David behaves in the role of the angry father/husband. He has her write out one thousand times, "I lost the nest egg." On Melvin's trip to Baltimore, he has everything preprogrammed and arranged. His music is individually labeled with such instructions as "to use as ice breaker," and "to pep things up." After he has severely insulted Carol, he insists on playing a song that says, "I love you." She is definitely not interested in hearing it. Melvin insists. She insists back. Moments of spontaneous passion have to be planned and calculated well in advance.

Because of this need for proscribed roles, power struggles often characterize Obsessive-Compulsive relationships. This is particularly true where the rules of the role (and the allocation of roles) are unclear or when there is a disagreement about the respective roles. Those close to Obsessive-Compulsive Personalities often find them frustrating-not only due to their inflexibility, but also because they are unable to make meaningful connections or partake in real communication. The Obsessive-Compulsive character is usually played as non-demonstrative. They separate feelings from thoughts, generally in order to dispense with the feelings. Tender shows of affection are usually blocked, or, if shown at all, are expressed indirectly. Hostility is likewise expressed indirectly and sometimes emerges as intrusive sexual, violent, or sadistic thoughts. Love is to be avoided because it is fundamentally messy on all levels. Allie Fox lies to his wife and children about the fate of civilization and not only refuses to listen to their needs, but also uses brute force when they cry against him. Eve's obsessive design forced upon her family to fit into the colorless contours of an emotionless world has resulted in what is decried as "too perfect to live in the world. No room for any real feelings." All have relationships that are strained at best.

Obsessive-Compulsives tend to make great business partners-great investment planners-but are a lousy way to spend a marriage. For that matter, spending a vacation with them is something to be scrutinized. Having a one-night stand with them may also be equally disappointing because they also tend to have trouble with their sexuality. The animalistic core from which such matters emerge is as far from the frontal lobes as possible. When Melvin kisses Carol at the end of As Good As It Gets, he stops and tries it again, declaring, "I know I can do better than that!" The two most common variables are either (a) shyness about sex that exposes them as distant, awkward, or nervous or (b) if not shyness, then overblown anxiety to the point that the sex becomes a fitful, erratic, bruising encounter.

By its very definition, love touches the human side. This side, focusing on the heart and not the mind, is unpredictable. Also, due to their primal experience with their parents, Obsessive-Compulsives tend to hate those whom they love. If they do not hate them, at the very least they resent them. They tend to equate love with repression, which then feeds hostility. It would be difficult for Obsessive-Compulsive characters to come to an understanding and realization of their emotions and its roots. Quite often in films they outright die because of this inability (Interiors, Mosquito Coast). Instead, they feel that it may perhaps be best to leave the whole love issue alone. Plainly speaking, when it comes to film characters, the Obsessive-Compulsive is downright bad at love. It seems to be against their nature. They try to rationalize love . . . and love is anything but rational. This is perhaps the single most important reason why it is rare to see the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality in a lead (heroic) character. Their unwillingness to love or be loved makes them cold and distant. It becomes an arduous task to care for or worry about their quest. Although Harrison Ford gives a riveting (and unheralded), stellar performance as the Obsessive-Compulsive Allie, it is an exhausting and often frustrating journey the viewer is asked to go on. There is only so much an audience will put up with. The result is that the individual sitting there in the dark becomes annoyed-pushed and tested to the breaking point. The victimized viewer experiences an uncontrollable (somewhat obsessive, somewhat compulsive) urge to reach up at the movie screen and throttle some sense into the character. Or, at the very least throttle some sense into the characters that are putting up with the bad behavior and not doing some throttling of their own. Interest is lost and the story will predictably crash and burn.

This convincing themselves that they hate what they actually love (called reaction formation) is a defense mechanism that appears very frequently in the repertoire of the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality. They often have one part of their lives that is messy. Freud believed that this signified a desire for irresponsibility, that despite their claims to virtue, they remain corrupt in at least one aspect. They would never allow this to happen in a formal, public setting, so this often occurs in their home life. Melvin keeps a side of himself hidden from those who know him-a turbulent, torrid, messy side: the Melvin who writes ravishing and passionate romances. He keeps this facet of himself tightly under wraps and only lets it breathe when closely guarded and sitting at his word processor. Eve, for all her self-control, has a nasty habit of trying to kill herself.
Backstory
The childhood of the Obsessive-Compulsive is critical because the tie between it and adulthood is very clearly representative. Obsessive-Compulsive parents breed Obsessive-Compulsive children. The child interjects the rigid standards of the parents. He thus tries to deny his natural impulses and instead become the model of behavior that is expected of him. This blocks the organic expressions common in the human species and the Obsessive-Compulsive fosters a false self-ruled by the despotic other, the tyrannical overseer that dominates his later life.

The child Obsessive-Compulsive views (and quite accurately remembers) the parents as stern, exacting, rule bound. The child is rigid-similar to the parent he will become. The parents are put off by the free-spirited and animal-like behavior of children. They work hard to turn the child into the model of a perfect societal prototype, a diminutive gentleman: mannered, contained, and submissive. They seek (and succeed) in taming the wild child who continues to tame himself after he has been set free in the world.

With the Obsessive-Compulsive there is an intense parental bond. They need their parents' praise-or at the very least, their lack of criticism. At a party, Diane risks peer disapprobation when she breaks away to call her father. Being the ideal daughter is far more important to her than having friends her own age. Her father (clearly the Obsessive-Compulsive mold from which Diane was cast) likewise values highly his public perception. When his credit card is declined, he is so humiliated by the idea that such a respectable person could be seen publicly in such a disreputable light that he runs home and cowers, fully dressed, in the bathtub. In the same fashion, Eve believes it will mean the end of the world to confront the humiliation that her husband has been speaking about the state of her mental health with her doctor behind her back.

Often the parents offer only qualified praise. The child may have done well, but the parents will offer insight on how he or she could have done better. The offspring, instilled with a fear of punishment or of love withheld, learns to be rigid and tends toward isolation. He learns to be a perfectionist. Dr. Margaret Ford (House of Games) is a famous author/psychologist, Allie Fox a genius inventor with multiple patents, Melvin Udall a successful writer. Diane Court is a national fellowship winner.

This personality generally is seen to develop later in childhood, when the child has matured enough intellectually to comprehend a moral system-a strict regime of what is right and what is wrong. Diane, forever self-sacrificing, is livid over Lloyd's flippant attitude toward the elderly, to whom she has devoted her non-studying hours. Allie Fox quotes Scripture by heart, yet threatens to kill the missionaries who try to bring God to his Utopia. Obsessive-Compulsives make the grave error of mistaking their opinions for absolute truths.

Though the parenting may be flawed, Obsessive-Compulsive parents try to do things as perfectly (as prototypical, as classically) and as best intentioned as possible. By sticking to the anemic rulebook of proper behavior they do not allow for spontaneity and, more vitally, intuition. There is not an overabundance of empathy in their technique. They do not have allowable margins for each child's inherent idiosyncrasies. They don’t enjoy surprises. They afford no indulgences. They deny hostility (much as they do in themselves). Denying hostility is not the healthiest thing to do to a child, where hostility and obstinate behavior (another no-no) are only too natural and necessary for the healthy development of a young psyche. There is little lenience given to the child's developmental phases, and the parents do not encourage the disorderliness of play unless it's proper and prescribed play. We are not talking about terrifically fun parents.

Effusive displays of love and affection are likewise rarely encouraged and considered embarrassing. Sublimated expressions of love (when it can be communicated at a safe distance) are eminently more acceptable. The child is taught that the way to love the parents is to obey them. For the child, love may become synonymous with the loss of autonomy. Therefore, in later life, to feel love is to feel obligation. Certainly as an adult it is understandable that he may be reluctant to do so.

Childhood is also the root of the Obsessive-Compulsive character's self-debasing guilt. They are not good enough for their parents. Deep inside they feel they have failed to be perfect children and to live up to what was expected of them. Children with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder appear to suffer from parental upbringings that manifest in self-doubting, guilt-ridden behavior. The distant parental figures were oftentimes cold and aloof, creating obsessive behavior in the child that attempted to bring them attention, love, and admiration. Unconscious rage toward the parent(s) is usually a result of the child reacting against the aloofness of the parent. The Obsessive-Compulsive child grows up with powerful fantasies of being cared for, but a terrible disdain for the emotions that being cared for would manifest. This unconscious bind creates a need for strong control, both internally and externally. By controlling the external environment the child feels that he or she has pleased the parent and avoided own abandonment. By controlling their internal world, these children have protected themselves from their uncomfortable emotional state-the longing for loving nurturing attachment and the murderous rage directed at the parents for not receiving it. They strive for an idealistic view of themselves and chronically feel that they must always do more and always be better. This constant self-disapproval and striving for grandiosity and perfectionism sets the stage for depression. When needs cannot be met-when unrealistic goals supersede logic-the Obsessive-Compulsive is fraught with feelings of hopelessness and, in extreme cases, suicidal behavior.

To break the cycle of obsession-compulsion, sufferers must willfully challenge their tight defenses and gradually learn to accept and express their disavowed drives, effects, and thoughts. Melvin knows this all too well, actually confirming that very treatment with his own doctor. David Howard has to learn to open up a bit, that it’s okay to get Lost In America. Diane learns to fly. It is not surprising that (at the core of stories such as those cited) the basic theme is about the ability to feel emotions . . . to experience love. Perhaps most important is taking on the responsibility of feeling those emotions.
The Arc Of An Obsessive-Compulsive Film Character
In As Good As It Gets, we are first given a series of scenes that catalogues Melvin Udall's Obsessive-Compulsive behaviors. It almost functions as a primer for the personality style. He is obsessed with cleanliness (sterility) to the point that he wears leather gloves whenever he goes outside. He disposes of them after a single use. He uses two fresh bars of soap to wash his hands. He is the victim of magical thinking (he has an elaborate toe-tapping ritual to put on his bedroom slippers), he has to lock and relock his door five times upon entering the house, and he is petrified to tread on any cracks in the sidewalk. He also visits only one restaurant-must do so precisely at the same time each day and sit at precisely the same table-and he must only be served by an entirely all too patient waitress named Carol. But what is most striking about Melvin is his Obsessive-Compulsive need for isolation-a need he satisfies extraordinarily well through his acerbic personality. Melvin is obnoxious to the point of being toxic. The first time we meet him he is shoving his gay neighbor's adorable little dog down a garbage chute.

Act One sets up the character of Melvin and his behaviors. Near the end of the first act, Melvin's gay neighbor, Simon, is beaten faceless. Melvin has thrust upon him temporary ward-ship of the dog, Verdell. He is horrified at first. "You can't do this," he tells Simon's friend, Frank. In no uncertain terms, Frank makes it clear that he can. Melvin protests: "No one's ever been in here before!" Act One ends with Melvin's hermetic world being breached.

In Act Two, we see that fissures are starting to form in the aegis of his carefully organized world and the fortifications of his self-imposed exile begin to crumble. First is the dog. Against his will, he begins to fall in love with the furry little mug. When the time comes to return Verdell to Simon, Melvin can barely hold back the tears. He says to his psychiatrist that he realizes he must begin by changing one pattern in his life. Unfortunately, he is soon hit broadside by the changes outside of his control or resistance. Things begin to tumble in-most significantly in the growing intimacy between him and Carol, his waitress. He inadvertently provokes a confrontation that breaches the impersonal distance between the two of them when he makes an offhand comment about her son's health. With that he has crossed the line and Carol will not ignore it. She confronts him and won’t back down, forcing him to acknowledge that he has erred. Things plummet when Carol is forced to leave her job to care for her son and Melvin, without Carol's intervention, is kicked out of the restaurant. "I'll be quiet," he pleads. "Just let me stay here. Just get Carol." But it is no use. After calling Carol's replacement "Elephant Girl," he has pretty much sealed his own fate. The exile of Melvin receives a standing ovation from the other patrons.

The routines of his life rapidly are dismantled. In efforts at self-preservation, he is forced to allow access into his life to people he previously has denied. He enters into Carol's personal life when he starts paying her child's medical bills so that she can return to work and wait on his table. He also befriends Simon because he needs to remain close to Verdell. Melvin gradually breaks free of his rigid patterns and begins to take his place in the world around him. He notices for the first time that the decor in his doctor's office has been changed . . . though it’s been two years since it was changed. What's startling is that he is beginning to take in data from outside the sphere of his own frame of reference. The point of no return occurs when Melvin actually falls in love (this disrupts everything he's so carefully managed). As he confides to Simon, "I haven't been sleeping, I haven't been clearing my head or felt like myself. I'm in trouble."

Nearing the end of Act Two, Melvin is again strong-armed by Frank to do a favor for Simon-this time, take him to Baltimore. Repelled at first, Melvin soon sees this as an opportunity to get close to Carol, whom he invites to come along. He plans the trip down to the smallest of details, packing his suitcase using a clipboard. Act Two ends in Baltimore, when Melvin severely insults an amorous Carol-his obnoxious behavior, his pushing people away has long since become so entrenched that he does it almost reflexively. He realizes then that his mode of behavior is no longer working for him and stands in the way of his happiness. He is in love-isolation has become anathema. Carol has told him that she doesn't want to see him again.

In Act Three, we watch Melvin progress rapidly. First off, he welcomes Simon into his home as his roommate. This is a huge step, not only because it is an act of inestimable generosity and kindness, but also in the fact that he is opening his previously highly guarded sanctum to someone that he formerly despised. He is then convinced that he must court Carol, seek forgiveness, make himself available. When he heads out to visit her in Brooklyn, he is bolstered by the fact that he had forgotten to perform his ritual of repeatedly locking the deadbolts on his door and no harm had befallen him.

In Brooklyn, he tells Carol that he's better. By all accounts he is. Not cured, just better. When he kisses her he puts his last remaining vestiges of perfectionism to good use. After a faulty first attempt he tells her, "I can do better than that." And he does.
QUALITIES AND QUALIFICATIONS THAT DEFINE THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY:

They tend to be preoccupied with orderliness.

They will strive for perfection.

They have a need for intellectual, unemotional control.

They are often inflexible-stubborn.

They frequently lack spontaneity.

They tend not to be open or forthcoming.

They sometimes sacrifice efficiency for attention to the smallest and most insignificant of details.

They follow rules and schedules.

They are excessively devoted to work and productivity.

They allow themselves little or no time for friends and leisure activity.

They tend to be inflexible when it comes to proper behavior and moral conduct.

They may not be able to ever throw anything away, even if it holds no sentimental value.

They tend to be reluctant to delegate tasks but prefer to complete them themselves.

They view money as something that is to be hoarded in case of future calamities-they tend to be miserly.

They seldom display emotions. When emotions are displayed, anger is the most common. Anger is acceptable to them if it is justified; righteous indignation is therefor admired.

They tend to be rigid in both manner and appearance.

They have difficulty working with others.

They are overly disciplined.

They are highly non-adaptive.

They are dependable and reliable.

They succumb to ritualized behaviors.

They hold themselves up to impossibly high expectations, and they feel shame when they fall short.

They consider emotions and feelings to be weak, childish, disorganized, and messy.

They tend to convert emotional situations into intellectual situations.

They keep the aggressive, lustful, needy parts of themselves strictly in abeyance.

They tend to worry needlessly and a lot.

They do not make choices easily; difficult ones can paralyze them.

They tend to isolate-isolation is their favorite defense mechanism.

They are preoccupied with cleanliness and may exhibit an abject fear of contamination-and therefore a compulsion to wash.

They may have an obsession with doubt, and therefore a compulsion for checking.

They often have intrusive and unwanted thoughts. They have the desire to ignore or suppress such intrusive thoughts with actions.

They often have a childhood characterized by harsh discipline.

They tend to lack a sense of humor, taking everything seriously.

They tend to be unwilling or unable to compromise.

They tend to alienate people.

They are eager to please those that they perceive as being more powerful than they are.

NOTEWORTHY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY

SPEECH
Mechanistic. Factual. Logical. Rational. Unemotional. Non-spontaneous. Extremely articulate. Detail oriented. An often-rambling speech style.

PROFESSIONS
Oftentimes law, Hi-Tech, or research. It would be extremely rare to find this type of personality in jobs requiring creativity, intuitive action, or public and excessive social interaction.

DRESS
Often reflective of their secretive, tightly held personality. Colorless an non-specific in statement. Nothing that would draw attention to itself. Certainly nothing that would indicate a creative or expressive nature inside the individual.

HEALTH
General worrisome attitude about health. Clean. Fastidious.

POPULAR CLICHÉS OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY
The Workaholic.
The WorryWart.
The Control Freak.
The Dark Cloud.
By The Books.
Penny Pincher.
Perfectionist.
Fussy.
Strict.
Demanding.
Scrupulous.
Exigent.
Difficult.
Hard to please.
Imperious.

SIMILAR PERSONALITY STYLES OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY
THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY
THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY
THE SCHIZOID PERSONALITY

VIEWING SUGGESTIONS OF THE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE PERSONALITY

As Good As It Gets (1997) - Comedy, 139, Rated R.
Jack Nicholson's Oscar winning performance as Melvin (favors heavily the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, nonetheless a great film to be exemplified).

California Split (1974) - Comedy, 108, Rated R.
Robert Altman's look at two obsessive gamblers, Bill and Charlie.

Crossfire (1947) - Crime, 86, No rating.
For Robert Ryan's performance as the obsessive, isolated Montgomery-an anti-Semitic killer. Also interesting for the Paranoia Chapter. John Paxton's script was Oscar nominated for his writing efforts.

Gambler, The (1974) - Drama, 111, Rated R.
Robert Altman returns to the gambling theme-this time with an obsessive James Caan in the lead role.

Hard Eight (1997) - Drama, 101, Rated R.
Fascinating take on the gambling scene by then newcomer Paul Thomas Johnson.

House of Games (1987) - Crime, 102, Rated R.
Lindsay Crouse as Dr. Margaret Ford-author of a book about obsessive-compulsive behavior who finds her life becomes the real thing.

Interiors (1978) - Drama, 93, Rated PG.
Geraldine Page in a pristine performance (as well as Academy Award nominated) that offers great examples and insights. Oscar nominated for the writing.

Lost in America (1985) - Comedy, 91, Rated R.
Albert Brook's obsessive-compulsive version of Easy Rider.

Mosquito Coast, The (1986) - Adventure, 117, Rated PG.
Wonderful, if dark, portrayal of the obsessive-compulsive world. A good example of why lead characters rarely demonstrate this personality type.

Say Anything... (1989) - Drama/Comedy, 100, Rated PG-13.
For the primary female character, Diane Court.