BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I’m surprised I never saw this movie until just recently. For some reason I just never crossed paths with this 1989 drama some million years later. The movie stars Gary Oldman as former soldier who can’t make way back at home. In a suicide attempt he tried to get the police to shoot him after an outburst. This lands him in a mental institution. There he meets an inmate Dennis Hopper and discovers how brutal and horrible the doctors and staff are in their treatment of the tortured patients. It’s a pretty damn intense movie that’s based on a true story. This was at the time when this kind of thing could be swept under the rug and evil could prevail. The story of real people this movie was based off of is a big reason why Florida had to change their system. Dennis Hopper is engaging and scary at the same time. You trust him, but you’re still weary. Gary Oldman is amazing in the lead role. You feel his pain and you have no choice but to want justice for him and the others in the story. It was a really good movie, but nothing too great. Oldman’s performance is outstanding, but the move is pretty forgettable and paint-by-numbers once it all starts to boil down. It’s a really intense and in your face version of a made for TV movie. That’s not an insult, but a fair assessment of the movie. It’s worth checking out if you come across it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say its essential watching. B
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