For those with an interest in Stanley Milgram's work, or indeed the man himself, I'm sure they'll find something to hang a hook on, in this quasi-documentary, rather than historical biopic. For me, I found Michael Almeredya's work about as enticing as a tarted up documentary, focusing more on his work and social responses, rather than the man himself.
I've little doubt the history police will have nothing to complain about with Experimenter in terms of its historical veracity. Much of the movie is just a series of vignettes justifying the movie's title. We literally are delivered experiment after experiment, with the various episodes often connected by a fourth wall breaking Peter Saarsgard, playing the good professor and explaining in great detail the rationale behind each experiment. It becomes pretty tedious quite quickly and ironically leaves little room for much of an examination of the man and his life outside his work. Winona Ryder despite having generous screen time as Milgram's wife Sasha, makes little impact in the narrative, due to the rigid docu/drama style employed by Almereyda. She's more like a stage prop used every so often to elaborate a point made by talking head Saarsgard.
The drama quotient does increase marginally in the second half of the film, when we do get some idea of the criticism Milgram receives from some of his peers and social commentators, regarding the ethical standards of some of his experiments. But this thread is never really allowed to develop, as we jump to a new experiment and/or new time period. And speaking of distracting devices that dilute dramatic content, can I just say to whoever was responsible for that ridiculous beard that Saarsgard wore in the last third of the film, "You had to be kidding".
I've little doubt the history police will have nothing to complain about with Experimenter in terms of its historical veracity. Much of the movie is just a series of vignettes justifying the movie's title. We literally are delivered experiment after experiment, with the various episodes often connected by a fourth wall breaking Peter Saarsgard, playing the good professor and explaining in great detail the rationale behind each experiment. It becomes pretty tedious quite quickly and ironically leaves little room for much of an examination of the man and his life outside his work. Winona Ryder despite having generous screen time as Milgram's wife Sasha, makes little impact in the narrative, due to the rigid docu/drama style employed by Almereyda. She's more like a stage prop used every so often to elaborate a point made by talking head Saarsgard.
The drama quotient does increase marginally in the second half of the film, when we do get some idea of the criticism Milgram receives from some of his peers and social commentators, regarding the ethical standards of some of his experiments. But this thread is never really allowed to develop, as we jump to a new experiment and/or new time period. And speaking of distracting devices that dilute dramatic content, can I just say to whoever was responsible for that ridiculous beard that Saarsgard wore in the last third of the film, "You had to be kidding".