Crazy, Not Insane

"Crazy, Not Insane" (2020 release; 117 min.) is a documentary that takes a closer look at the life and works of noted psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis. As the film opens, she explains why she became interested in examining serial killers: "It's like a chance to interview Hitler". Later on she ponders: "Why don't I murder? why don't you murder?" We then go back in time, as Lewis, upon graduating from the Yale School of Medicine, by happenstance becomes involved with juvenile delinquents, and makes a startling discovery that shows a physical difference in the brains of homicidal vs. non-homicidal delinquents... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest film from long-time documentarian Alex Gibney, who just recently released the excellent "Agents of Chaos", and whose prior work also includes 2013's "The Armstrong Lie" and 2015's "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief", among many others. Here he takes a closer look at the (for some: groundbreaking, for others: controversial) work by Dorothy Lewis in the filed of understanding what makes serial killers do what they do. The documentary takes a good half hour to really get going, but after that, we are knee-deep into the core issue: do you accept/believe in the concept of multiple personality disorder, also known as dissociative identity disorder, or not? There are plenty of video clips from Lewis' work in the late 80s-early 90s when Lewis came to the forefront of this issue. It makes for at times fascinating viewing, and while it is pretty clear where Gibney stands in all of this, he gives plenty of space to both sides of the argument. I must say that, given Gibney's considerable reputation as one of the premier documentarians of this generation, I had expected something more, and that this does not rank among his very best work. Not that I think that "Crazy, Not Insane" is "bad" or anything. It's just not a heavyweight like some of his best documentaries.

"Crazy, Not Insane" was scheduled to premier at this year's SXSW festival in March. Then a little thing call COVID-19 changed the world as we know it (SXSW was canceled). The movie finally premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival in September, and started showing on HBO earlier this week. It is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming services. If you are a fan of Alex Gibney's work or simply are interested in catching a true crime-reminding documentary, I'd readily suggest you check this out on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

Dr. Lewis likely has interviewed more serial killers than anyone else on the planet, but it is doubtful whether all that talk has produced any useful research on the subject. Her seeming determination to discover multiple personalities in every serial killer she interviews damages her credibility and exposes her stunning gullibility.

It's easy to start falling down the rabbit hole of whatever your life work is. I think Dorothy bridged some huge gaps in mental health and how that affects some people. Like the film said, killers are made, not born. However, to be in favor of halting death penalty cases so one can be researched (or do the researching) is very wrong. I feel this film focused on the humanity of the killer and ignored the victims. That's fine if you're doing research to understand the mind of a killer, but to want to take on the ethics of capital punishment goes too far. MANY people have really messed up childhoods and anyone reading this has experienced that or knows someone who did. They don't all start killing (and that's addressed in this film). But the death penalty isn't only about ridding humanity of a threat or to even be a deterrent for others. It's about getting justice for the victim(s) and the family(s) of the victim(s). It would be nice if life was free of horrible, terrible things like rape, murder, torture etc. Unfortunately, that's just a part of human nature that will never go away. Doing research and attempting to understand all facets of the human brain is fantastic - the more we know the better. However, the death penalty should be in place in EVERY STATE and used only for the worst of society who's crimes have been proved 100% - there's ZERO chance that a mistake has been made. Society needs that. To know that there is a punishment to fit the crime.

Like many of the other reviewers, I sense the Dr. has blinders on. We are shown only those murderers who tend to support her assumption of multiple personality. Yes, it would be nice to have seen some critical analysis, but this was a documentary, not a double-blind experiment. One should expect to see primarily one view. If you're like me, you can understand that, and be impressed by the access she had to some seriously crazy (insane? evil?) people.

This documentary provided little insight into the study of the disassociative mind but rather highlighted Dr. Lewis's view of her most spectacular interactions with famous murderers. The documentary managed to turn a fascinating subject into a 😴.