Charly

I saw this movie on TV when I was a child and while I don't remember every single plot detail, overall it made a lasting impression on me. So much so that I have been determined all these years to try and see this movie again.

I stumbled across the movie on TV and I clearly remember the highly emotional impact it made on me.

Thanks to IMDb I was able to keep searching for the title as I could best remember it and was thrilled when I discovered it here.

A truly stunning memorable movie - I only wish I could get it on DVD. Highly recommended.

When I think of all the dross I have watched over the years that is so forgettable, it is wonderful to return and discover a movie that captivate me so long ago and discover that I am not alone in rating it 10 out of 10!

Before there was "Awakenings" (1990) and "Good Will Hunting" (1997), there was a sincere, sad, and bittersweet film called "Charly" (1968). The film is based on the book "The Two Worlds of Charly Gordon." Cliff Robertson delivers a brilliant performance as a mentally retarded man who becomes a genius through scientific experiments. Claire Bloom is Charly's social worker (and love interest). The film is directed by Ralph Nelson ("Lillies of the Field"). score: 8 (out of 10).

A mildly mentally retarded man submits to a scientific experiment to increase his intelligence. Like "Frankenstein", "Charly" is a clever morality play about science that crosses certain boundaries. Unlike "Frankenstein", which took the horror route, "Charly" explores the emotional human tragedy that inevitably occurs when an experiment of this nature goes awry.

Many scientists back then and even today argue that the professional boundaries that were crossed in this story would never happen in real life. Yet with the recent successful gene manipulation and cloning experiments many believe it is only a matter of time, a very short time, before a human submits to such experiments.

The movie, of course, is not this clinical. Based on the classic novel, "Flowers for Algernon", the movie strikes a keen balance of warmth, comedy and tragedy. Cliff Robertson's fascinating portrayal of the main character is unforgettable. His delivery of the powerful speech at the scientific convention is just as stunning and eerily accurate today as it was over thirty years ago.

An emotional, touching drama, "Charley" still rings a cautionary bell. One that should be heard and not ignored as we enter the new millennium.

Charly is a very touching sci-fi film about a retarded man Charly Gordon (Cliff Robertson) who can barely perform the menial job of sweeping up in a bakery and is the continual butt of jokes and ridicule by the bakers. He is chosen to participate in an experiment and is given treatments to boost his IQ. Alice Kinninan (Claire Bloom) plays one of the scientists who helps Charly to learn. Charly is based on the story Flowers For Algernon and the screenplay was by Stirling Silliphant (In The Heat of the Night.) Cliff Robertson won a best actor Oscar for Charly. The film is intelligent, poignant, and extremely moving. You'll need a box a Kleenex with your popcorn for this one.

A mentally challenged man named Charly (Cliff Robertson) desires to become smarter so that he wouldn't always be picked on by his so-called friends at his workplace. However, he has made no progress despite his efforts of going to school. One day he gets a chance to undergo some experimental brain surgery and his intelligence skyrockets, making him a genius. Still, he cannot stop feeling like an outsider or find happiness with Alice, the woman he loves (Claire Bloom).

The director uses many split screens and other alienating techniques to portray the fragile mental state of Charly; at points they get rather annoying and look dated. The montage near the end, depicting the progression of Charly and Alice's relationship, comes across as rather hasty, considering the scene directly preceding it. Mostly the story advances fine though, and the pondering about the surgery's effects on Charly's psyche is interesting – there should have been more of it, actually. Robertson's Oscar-winning performance in the lead role is decent, although I preferred his calm 'intelligent Charly' to his naïve 'challenged Charly'.