Six Ways to Sunday simply introduces us to another film theory, psychoanalytic film theory. This theory was developed in 1970s and 1080s by Jacques Locan, a French psychoanalyst and writer. He introduced the concept of psychoanalysis in films. Generally, psychoanalysis is concerned with the casual role of wishes and beliefs in human life. More specifically, it attempts to explain mental or behavioral phenomena that do not appear to make sense as the effects of unconscious wishes and beliefs. Applying this concept to films, the film viewer is taken to the character's vista wherein as the film progresses; it takes the viewers to identify the character's desires. The theory stresses the character's longing for a completeness which the film may appear to offer through illusions and other means.
Harry (the lead character of the movie) is the character with unconscious desires and throughout the film; he showed us indication of who it might be. Going back again to psychoanalytic theory, this phenomenon includes dreams, disturbances in functioning, transient forgetting, and neurotic symptoms. Typically unconscious wishes and beliefs are constituents of conflicts. The term unconscious in psychoanalysis does not mean simply that mental contents are out of awareness. Its psychodynamic meaning is that the person does not want to be aware of these contents and takes active steps to avoid being aware of them. This instance was shown when Harry pee in the toilet while his mom was bathing. The scene looks normal at first until a man appeared in the living room and talked to Harry asking for his mom. He punched the man when he insisted of going after his mom in the bathroom. Another instance was when Harry is in Louis' mansion alone with Iris, the maid, the same man sexually assault Iris and Harry just stare at them looking helpless. Later at the end of the film, we learned that the man who came frequently in Harry's world is his alter persona.
Harry may not be aware of his desire and since he cannot fulfill this desire in reality, his split persona tried to fulfill this for him. Psychoanalytic theory suggests that the dynamic unconscious was thought to consist of sexual and aggressive impulse or wishes. There are many parts in the film when Harry show ultra-aggressiveness. He even reached the point of killing his own friend and his gang. It now emphasizes that the dynamic unconscious of fantasies-internal scenarios of sexual and aggressive wishes-are imagined as fulfilled. In the case of Harry, he did not only imagine it but it happened in reality with the aid of his alter ego.
This film also portrays an oedipal relation between Harry and his mom. One theme of the psychoanalytic theory is the Oedipus complex. Harry's fantasy of his mom is clearly shown in some scene like when he let Iris wore the black veil of his mom on the onset of their lovemaking.
The director of this film did a good job in showing us Harry's "unconscious desires" and this film even gave the fulfillment of the character's wish at the later end. As for the quality of the film as a whole, it's a different matter…
