Netflix Pick – Experimenter
It was a rough week finding the Netflix pick for this week. Experimenter was the fifth one I watched specifically for this article but it’s a great one for the (semi) intellectual listeners/readers. Experimenter is a semi-biographical film about a social psychologist who started in the early 60s and whose work is still referenced, studied, and replicated today. With an outstanding cast, creative film making, and a story that is absolutely fascinating it’s a wonder that this movie wasn’t bigger news. Luckily, that’s why So Wizard is here to help you get the most out of your Netflix account.
Tired of hearing your friends say they’ve watched everything on Netflix? Are you finding yourself saying that as well? Maybe the argument of people too cheap to shell out the 8 dollars are saying ‘there used to be good stuff, but it’s all crap now.’ Maybe you find yourself spending more time scrolling than watching. Well I plan to put those idiotic statements and bad behavior to rest. On a week to week basis I will give a solid recommendation or two on what you can sign on, turn on, and enjoy. I’ll try to stay away from the massive titles that everyone knows since those have been covered to exhaustion everywhere else. I’m looking for the hidden gems. The indies, the big name stars in direct to streaming endeavors that are well crafted and creative but wouldn’t gross the 300 million needed to justify a theatrical wide release.
Experimenter Poster
Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard) was an assistant professor of psychology in 1961. He made sure to differentiate himself as an experimental psychologist and not just someone who listened to your problems while you laid on a couch. His experiments tricked people at first but Sarsgaard always revealed the truth to it so no one would be so mentally disturbed from what they thought they had done. The results of the experiments were even more staggering. The results were so far in the direction opposite of what Sarsgaard’s peers assumed they would be it only fueled his fire further. With the help of his loving wife, Sasha (Winona Ryder) Milgram pushed through an interesting career that, at the time, looked like a tangent, but proved to be so much more.
Milgram’s area of focus was on how people interacted with one another. Their decision making, group mentality, problem solving abilities and why people would do terrible things just because they were told to. The ideas for Milgram’s experiments were born of the atrocities caused by the Nazi Party during World War II. Milgram is Jewish and his family was lucky enough to come to America, from Europe, before the Holocaust. The situations seem barbaric, even for an audience member 50+ years removed from the experiments. You can’t help but cringe at times even after the magician tells his secrets, so to speak.
This movie is a must for anyone who is even slightly interested in human studies or psychology. Ever sit in a mall food court? Wonder why a stranger acted a certain way? Watched a crowd conform with no clear leader? Milgram has studied all of that and more. The movie spends a lot of time on one particular experiment of Milgram’s where two strangers were put in separate rooms. One took the role of teacher and the other student. Teacher would ask questions and administer increasingly brutal electric shocks to student as the experiment progressed. At least that’s what they thought. Every single step of the experiment, down to the proctor’s lab coat color, are explained in Sarsgaard controlled and calming voice to really hammer the message home.
The way the movie was shot feels like a social experiment in itself. The movie is dull, nothing fantastical jumps out at the screen, characters scarcely even raise their voices. The music is a slightly manic, almost Hitchcockian ensemble of strings and deep tones. The low level narration that ebbs and flows throughout the film are all ways to keep you glued to the screen, waiting for the next reveal, the next reaction, and the next minute detail.
Director/Writer Michael Almereyda keeps the run time tight at only 98 minutes. More on Milgram’s life and career would be interesting but the movie doesn’t leave you wanting or lacking in a bad way. Almereyda has found the perfect blend of the experiments with the real man and doesn’t skew too far into either territory to ruin what the film was going for.
Peter Sarsgaard carries almost all the movie himself. He serves as the lead, the protagonist, and the narrator. At times he may even look like the antagonist. Sarsgaard almost always delivers on his performances but after seeing him in Experimenter I can’t think of an actor more perfect for the role. While Sarsgaard dominates the screen time the experiments wouldn’t hit home if it wasn’t for the vast cast of actors and actresses that bring sincerity to everything. Taryn Manning, John Leguizamo, Anthony Edwards, and Jim Gaffigan all help with the experiments. Winona Ryder shows up as the leading lady who doesn’t get fleshed out quite enough but is a strong counterpart to Sarsgaard just the same.
If the last nine hundred words weren’t enough reinforcement I’ll make it plain. Experimenter should be seen by anyone with a Netflix account. If you have a weird friend who hasn’t caught on yet, invite them over and watch it together. This movie is masterful in it’s execution and fascinating in it’s subject matter.
