Experimenter (2015)
Director: Michael Almereyda
Writer: Michael Almereyda
Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Anthony Edwards, Jim Gaffigan, Winona Ryder
Genre: Biography, Drama
About: Based on a true life series of infamous psychological test that were conducted on unwitting subjects in 1961, by the highly controversial, social psychologist Stanley Milgram. His radical experiments delved into why so many Nazis readily obeyed orders in the concentration camps. His experiments involved a 'teacher' who would ask a series of memory related question to a 'learner' subject, located in the next room. Every time the 'learner' got the answer wrong the 'teacher' would flip a switch sending a painful jolt of electricity. The first shock was a harmless 45 volts, BUT the voltage increased with each wrong answer, all the way up to a dangerous 450 volts!
Review: What a movie! and to think hundreds of people were subjected to these experiments all in the name of science. I don't want to give away to much here, as this is a must see. The results of the test and the suffering the victims endured has to be seen to be believed!
This movie was a real eye opener. It's odd as it's done in a semi documentary style with the psychologist breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to us, the audience, about events that would happen latter in his life. Very different type of movie. But what I found most disturbing was the results of these test, and for that you need to watch this movie!
Equal odd is that the first time we see an older Winona Ryder she looks for all the world like an older Audrey Hepburn. I had never noticed that before about here. If that's not enough oddness Jim Gaffigan,reminded me of Chris Farley. In reading about Gaffigan I seen that he started as a stand up comic too. Though in this movie he plays a victim who screams for mercy as he's being electrocuted. ...Proving that this weird movie is even weirder with consequences, the actor who plays the infamous psychologist Peter Sarsgaard is a twin to a younger Ben Gazzara.
If you have a curious mind and can stomach what you see in Experimenter, you will learn something shocking about humans.