Dull as dish water this one is, and for what could have been a fascinating topic. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but Jeff Goldblum looked incredibly old in the picture. Checking his stats here on IMDb, he's almost seventy, which I didn't realize, so that explains that observation. I couldn't help thinking that his character, Dr. Wallace Fiennes, was both unethical and irresponsible in the way he carried on with his social life, reveling in a drunken stupor on more than one occasion as he rode the circuit with would be assistant Andy (Tye Sheridan). As for Andy, his off-putting countenance was typified by a mostly catatonic stare most of the time that bordered on creepy. Following his berserk outburst at the asylum, I fully expected Andy to wind up on a table for one of the good doctor's controversial procedures. It looked like lobotomy and electroshock were his stock in trade with a decided effort to avoid getting with the times in regard to more modern treatments. Come to think of it, Susan's father (Denis Levant) looked like he could have used a good procedure himself. I'm not sure how the picture's ending resolved anything for Susan (Hannah Gross) or Andy, finding themselves in the middle of a snow covered forest with no options at their disposal. Personally, it didn't feel to me as if they were 'Home, Home on the Range'. For a much better film dealing with mental illness during the era of the Forties and Fifties, I would recommend taking a look at 1948's "The Snake Pit".

Electroshock & lobotomies were used extensively in the first half of the 20th century (1900s) to treat mental illness (mostly mood disorders). Of particular interest was the controversial "ice pick" lobotomy. A hammering of an ice pick like metal through the upper corner eye sockets to quickly, often no more than 10 min under general anesthesia, break the thin socket bone & disrupt small amounts of brain tissue. Our film follows the procedure in the early '50s while being displaced by drugs such as Chlorpromazine. Despite controversy it was still being performed into the late '60s.

Great acting, especially by Lavant as he requests it to be done to his daughter. The script follows a doctor performing the procedure (w/bizarre side scenes) & his documenting photographer assistant.

Be careful if you're going to watch this movie, every review here, good or bad, is right to some extent. It is certainly a demanding movie, so don't watch it if you're tired. And, when you do watch it, do it carefully, let yourself feel everything, even boredom, and at the same time, analyse everything in the movie.

I know it's not saying a lot, but I write this because I almost didn't go see it because of the bad reviews (vierwers and critics alike) and I'm so happy I listened to my instinct and not the ratings. So, I hope this can convince someone who is in doubt, that this movie is worth it, even if it takes work to get through it.