By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Ken Russell
Starring: Blair Brown | Bob Balaban | Charles Haid | Drew Barrymore | Miguel Godreau | Thaao Penghlis | William Hurt
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 102
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/reference
Michael says: “From his crazed musicals (TOMMY; THE BOY FRIEND) to his hallucinogenic movies (GOTHIC; THE RAINBOW; LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM) I knew what I was getting into when I decided to watch ALTERED STATES. I’ve always been wary, but also intrigued with the film, as I actually read the original novel, written by playwright/screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, and published in 1978. The film is about a man researching the affects of spending time in an isolation tank. When visiting an aboriginal tribe he experiments with hallucinogens, and upon his return, he becomes obsessed with combining the two. He theorizes that he is genetically devolving to an earlier state of being during his time in the tank. A parallel plot involves his devoted wife, who loves him devotedly, even after they divorce, because the man’s love is science, and he doesn’t have enough to spare for his wife. Yes she is the only one who stands by him in the end, and it is her love for him that saves him. It’s all a little silly, and Russell, in his usual fashion takes it all a tad too seriously. Again, kind of nice that it was set in Boston. 2 cats“