Experimenter - Die Stanley Milgram Story

In 1961 Dr Stanley Milgram performed a series of experiments that revolutionised our understanding of human behaviour, particularly with regard to obedience. It went a long way to explaining how the Nazis managed to carry out the Holocaust and explaining other historic events. This is the story of Dr Milgram, this famous experiment and his other work.

A simple yet effective telling of one of the great breakthroughs in sociology / psychology. Is quite a dry telling, with fairly low production values, but it largely works. Quite interesting, especially as you hear about the results of the main experiment plus some of the other experiments Professor Milgram performed.

As mentioned, it is quite dry though, so can feel a bit dull at times. We don't learn much about Milgram himself, even though much of his life is shown. His family life seems more like padding than anything else (even if his wife is played by the wonderful Winona Ryder).

Solid enough performance by Peter Sarsgaard in the lead role. Good supporting cast. Taryn Manning does look out of place though, playing a 1960s housewife. Maybe it is because I kept thinking of her as Pennsatucky in Orange is the New Black!

This film is particularly surprising. It's very interested in many of the facts of the real life obedience experiment. In fact, one could even argue that it seems to be very dry and non- climactic. The docudrama, of course, is restrained and doesn't overdo anything with large dramatizations of events and beats. I can also very much see many people getting bored with it however. Saarsgard is really great, totally inhabiting and creating that version of Milgram. Glad to see Winona Ryder on the screen again. Overall, it is very subdued, but it is a great introduction to the experiment that really shows as much as we can learn about what motivates people to commit such crimes.

Yes, as many other reviewers have eluded, the movie can be a bit dry. My wife got lost in the message because she lost interest rather quickly. It wasn't until I explained the message the movie was trying to convey that she seemingly became more interested.

**spoiler** Watch it until the end, the message is rather powerful. I specifically liked the ending because (Sasha) Stanley's wife allowed herself to fall in the same class when the nurse made her fill the paperwork while Stanley is having a heart attack. In this instance, I felt like I would have called BS and told the nurse to get a doctor ASAP, instead of calmly filling out the paperwork like she was doing. But then again, that's exactly the message the movie was delivering, that we easily follow orders without question even against what we think is right.

"How do civilized human beings participate in destructive inhumane acts?" Wanting to discover why humans do things that seem cruel and unusual to other humans psychologist Stanley Milgram (Sarsgaard) begins to conduct a series of social experiments. The more people he tests the more worried he becomes about the results, and about the fate of mankind. This is a very good movie, but not a movie for everyone. This movie is a little like the Masters of Sex TV show in the way that you watch an experiment being conducted and how the creator is treated. The movie is very interesting and having known very little about the real experiment it kept me interested and worried at the results as well. There is very little action in this and the movie for the most part is Saarsgaard talking to the audience and trying to explain his method, but I really thought it was interesting and I was surprised as to how much I enjoyed it. Overall, not a movie for everyone, but anyone studying psychology will love this movie. I give this a B.

This movie gave a great insight into human nature and so did the experiments. Yes it was a tad slow but it only felt like that to me after I had watched it. I was immediately drawn in by the whole setup of the experiment and with the progression of the rest of them. This won't get anyone's heart pumping or racing but nonetheless I was glued to the screen with what this movie was trying to show me. I was so fascinated by the whole idea of it, that putting up with any of the 'slow' parts seemed quite easy. If you're in any way interested in human nature and how or why people could bring themselves to do certain things, you'll definitely appreciate this film.

I didn't know anything about this man or his experiments but I always wondered about the very same things he did in regards to the tragedy's he spoke of and others. How can people slaughter others or commit heinous acts, bring themselves to do these things and then simply claim they were only the messenger? I believe it's definitely worth a watch to anyone.