Egomania (UK TV Documentary)

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"Egomania" was an episode of a 3-part documentary series on Channel 4 made by Firecracker Films about people who are diagnosed with what psychiatrists call Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).

The other two parts of the series, called Mania, were called Erotomania and Pyromania.

The film was directed by Mark Soldinger, narrated by actor Bernard Hill, and actor Laurence Easton portrayed convicted British killer Brian Blackwell (claimed to have all 9 traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder) in a re-enactment of his crime.

The film was not well received by some critics.

Sam Wollaston from the Guardian referred to it as "an excuse to show some really nasty people and their behaviour on the television" and asked of the Brian Blackwell murder reenactment, "Is that really necessary?". Though he does feel the documentary improves towards the end: "When a contributor who has featured throughout, Dr Sam Vaknin, reveals that he is not just an expert on the condition, but also a sufferer.^[1] And then we get to see him in action, the out-takes of the making of the film, in which he's trying to run the show, demanding retakes, trying to write the script, direct it, do everything, because he believes he can do it better. He's a rare thing - a self-aware egomaniac, and it's absolutely fascinating to watch".^[2]

In his review, Paul Whitelaw felt that it "typified the shallow, brassy, stylised approach which taints so many factual-based programmes" and went on to suggested the reconstructions of the murder: "must have been upsetting for the family concerned. Still, I'm sure it satisfied the ego of the director".^[3]