Elizabeth Sankey’s latest documentary, “Doc Connects Women’s Mental Health With the Ethereal,” premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, offering a unique exploration of postpartum mental health through an unconventional lens. The 90-minute film, set to be distributed by MUBI, delves into the often stigmatized and silenced experiences of new mothers grappling with postpartum anxiety, depression, and psychosis. However, Sankey’s attempt to link these modern psychological struggles with historical witch trials has sparked debate.
Sankey, a British filmmaker and member of the indie-pop band Summer Camp, uses her personal experiences as a narrative anchor. She recounts her own harrowing journey through postpartum depression, including suicidal thoughts, emergency room visits, and a stay in a mother-and-child psychiatric unit. Her candidness is both vital and refreshing, aiming to normalize severe postpartum conditions beyond the commonly discussed “baby blues.”
The documentary features interviews with friends and other women Sankey met through support groups and the psychiatric hospital where she received treatment. These testimonies highlight the terrifying isolation and intrusive thoughts many new mothers face, providing a raw and honest portrayal of postpartum mental health.
Sankey’s film is visually striking, with production designer May Davies creating ethereal indoor sets awash in greens and purples, celestial décor, and sprawling ivy. Sankey herself appears in “dark woman” costumes, contrasting her ghostly complexion with crimson lipstick, a brunette bob, a black sweater, and gold pendants. This visual aesthetic is complemented by a montage of clips from popular films featuring witches and mentally ill women, such as “I Married a Witch” (1942), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “The Witches of Eastwick” (1987), “An Angel at My Table” (1990), “The Craft” (1996), and “The Witch” (2015).
Despite its compelling visuals and personal narratives, the film’s attempt to draw a connection between historical witch trials and modern postpartum psychosis is less convincing. Sankey suggests that postpartum psychotic hallucinations may have led women in the past to confess to witchcraft, but she provides little evidence to support this theory. Instead, she relies on vague metaphors and cultural dissections that feel more like pop-feminist pseudo-history than rigorous analysis.
Sankey’s exploration of witch tropes, such as the dichotomy between “good witches” and “bad witches” and the idea of forbidden feminine power, feels repetitive and lacks depth. She also revisits the notion that the male medical establishment of early modern Europe persecuted midwives and healer women as witches to eliminate competition, a theory that has been widely discussed but remains contentious.
The documentary is most powerful when it focuses on real women and their experiences with postpartum mental health. It highlights important statistics, such as the average eight-year delay in diagnosing endometriosis, and delves into notorious cases of postpartum depression and psychosis. These include Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in 2001 during a psychotic episode, and Daksha Emson, a psychiatrist who killed her three-month-old daughter and herself due to deteriorating mental health.
Experts interviewed in the film discuss the barriers doctors face when seeking personal help and note that rates of postpartum suicide have increased over the past 30 years. These insights underscore the urgent need for better mental health support for new mothers.
While the film’s ethereal visuals and personal narratives are compelling, its commentary on witchcraft and psychology feels muddled. Sankey’s longing for a literal village witch to cure her ills and her yearning for an emotional support coven detract from the film’s more grounded and impactful moments. Ultimately, “Doc Connects Women’s Mental Health With the Ethereal” is a thought-provoking but flawed exploration of postpartum mental health, blending personal testimony with historical speculation in a way that is both intriguing and contentious.
