Coma profondo

Not for those who fear the medical profession, this creepy thriller takes it's time getting started, but then kicks into high gear. It creates a mood and builds suspense to an almost unbearable degree. Elfin Bujold (sporting a truly unappealing hairstyle) is Dr. Susan Wheeler, a principled, dedicated intern at a major hospital. She begins to notice a disturbing trend...that folks with purportedly minor surgeries are not coming out of their operations conscious. From this point on, it is virtually Bujold against the world as a gallery of sexist, condescending doctors (including her own lover Douglas) tries to poo-poo her findings or encourage her to lay off. Naturally, she can't leave well enough alone and is soon up to her ears in intrigue and violence. The film has a blatantly frank point of view. People eat sandwiches while they are examining cadavers. Brains are sliced like deli meat. It's all very clinical and unsettling to non-medical viewers. There are several highly-charged moments including a duct hole exploration and a chase through a seemingly abandoned hospital. Jerry Goldsmith's clanking score doesn't take center stage until late in the film, but is wonderfully nerve-wracking when it needs to be. Bujold and the Chief of Staff Widmark make wonderful counterparts as they come from different generations and different eras of medicine. Best of all is the brief, but unforgettable, appearance of Ashley as the world's most intimidating nurse. In her opening scene she blinks exactly once! Her voice is a monotone terror and her stare is up there with Medusa's. The section that contains her is surreal, but arresting and very campy! Adding to the fun is a series of small appearances by people like Torn, Chiles, Selleck and Harris. This is a frightening film with some memorable imagery and a startling amount of skin for a PG film.

In COMA, petite heroine Genevieve Bujold shows you don't have to be an amazon like Sigourney Weaver or Lucy Lawless to get physical with the bad guys. Set against a hospital backdrop ranking in verisimilitude with that of THE HOSPITAL (the only other accurate medical drama of the 1970's), this is a gripping thriller even on repeat viewing over twenty years later. Bujold's acting has been mentioned by other reviewers, but I would award special accolades to Richard Widmark, whose character's unctuous avuncularity is executed with superb subtlety. Plus, he even comports himself just like a real physician of seniority.

I do have a few complaints, not least of which is the gratuitous and grossly inaccurate portrayal of clinical lab personnel and the laboratory environment. Shame on Crichton, who must have missed out on visiting the lab through his entire tenure as a medical student. The laserdisc transfer is technically one of the worst I have in my collection. The monaural soundtrack is overdriven and distorted; the colors are washed out; and careless unmasking of the print (COMA is not letterboxed) results in visible boom mikes in several shots.

Still, this is a classic film, and anyone who wants to get up to speed on medical movies wouldn't want to exclude COMA.

"Coma", as well as other mid-to-late 70's films, was one of the reasons I became a filmmaker myself. In terms of the suspence, tension and general spookiness of such a "normal and everyday" subject as hospitals, doctors, etc., was very influential in how I perceived the things around me. The great thing about the film, and the book - of course, was that we put our trust in people like doctors, policemen, goverment officials, and the like - and most of the time that trust is "blind faith". Dr. Cook and DR. Crichton are masters at this genre - Making the incredible credible. Even though this film is a bit dated, It is almost becoming a reality. In China, prisoners are "harvested" for their organs so others can benefit. Technology, like in the film, can now sustain life for as long as the machine(s) and/or computers can function. It was Sci-Fi in 1978 - now an all-to-real reality. Back to the film itself, I thought Dr. Crichton did a wonderful job on the directing and the screenplay. The material he had from Dr. Cook was first-rate. The cinematography, done by A.S.C. President Victor J. Kemper was outstanding. The technique of keeping the images at the hospital as cold, sterile and clinical as possible was brilliant. Mr. Hirschfield's "Jefferson Institute" sequences were also fantastic. Dr. Crichton's editing pace was also a stroke of genius. All editing was done with straight cuts. No zooms and very few dolly /pan shots. This was keep with the theme that YOU, THE VIEWER, are in the hospital and the "cuts" are as impersonal and precise as the doctor's scalpel. The cast was also well thought out. Ms. Bujold, even though she speaks with a thick French-Canadian accent, was the perfect protagonist. You do not have to be an Amazon Woman to be strong and independent. Mr. Douglas was a bit "sleepy" in his role, he just needed more to do. Mr. Widmark was perfect as the Chief, as was Mrs. Ashley as the Institute's head matron. Look for Tom Selleck and Ed Harris in their first movie roles. Also, in the "Jefferson Institute" sequence, you will see a young Christopher Reeve as a hapless victem of the movie's plot. All in all, "Coma" is one of those films that, even though had moderate success at the box office, is really a forgotten gem in the MGM vaults. It proves that you do not need blood guts, or special effects to make a great movie. Gee, kind of like Mr. Hitchcock.

"Coma" is one of those movies which for some reason made a powerful impression on me as a kid. Not through its story line, the acting or Geneviève Bujold(I was still too young to appreciate these "aspects" :-) ), but through an overall atmosphere. Such that, upon reviewing 20 years later, certain scenes trigger memories and almost puts me back into that couch as a 7-8 year old. Another of those movies is the weird early science fiction movie by George Lucas of which the title escapes me right now.

In "Coma", it was in particular the image of the "Jefferson Institute" building that recalled an evening somewhere in the late '70s. There's probably no movie featuring a more effective and suggestive modern-style horror house. For me, the "Jefferson Institute" complex perfectly impersonates and clenches the feeling that this intelligent thriller is trying to get accross. By its architecture and desertedness, it suggests sterility, impersonality, loneliness and the feeling of an industrial complex. The sterility of a medical system that does well in the technical aspect, but features a growing impersonality that makes it miss its primary goal: to make people feel good. The loneliness of Bujold, who is rather assumed by everyone to be paranoid than to be believed, even by her boyfriend. And the industrial feeling of a healthcare system that doesn't exist to cure people, but to keep itself alive as an industry (=profitable).

With the arrival of sophisticated genetic techniques, the medical horror genre is bound to return soon to the big screen. It will be difficult to do a better job than the concisely-titled "Coma"...

JoH

Man, I had no idea what a good time I was in for with this one. Chrichton, a young Douglas, Tom Selleck in a minor (but important!) role, and I believe that's a very young Ed Harris playing a morgue attendant/medical examiner. His line about his wife is one of the funniest in the film. But seriously, this is very good and very overlooked. Tight construction, buildup, excellent characterization, swift and unpredicatble plot turns and visually striking scenes. I don't know how they created the "Institute's" main "storage facility". If you think about the actors involved in that one, you have to be impressed. And as another comment points out, the chase scene that ends in the freezer room is excellent; creepy and visceral. The killer , who is really just a hit man for whoever is behind 'the conspiracy' is suitably athletic, anonymous, and menacing. His sole line : "They told me to make it look like an accident" is extremely scary and effective - when coupled with his actions during the maintenance man scene. Good writing, Michael. Ane the suspense during the finale, well they just don't make'em like this anymore. Very enjoyable.