Three Christs (2020)

Rating: ⭐⭐

Three Christs was first premiered in the 2017 Toronto Film Festival but only officially released almost 3 years later. It is based on a true story about a psychiatrist, Dr Alan Stone, who experimented with treating three schizophrenic patients in a mental hospital in Michigan in 1959. All three patients claimed that they were Jesus Christ, hence, the title Three Christs. However don't let the title mislead you into thinking this is some sort of religious Christian propaganda. Far from it. In fact there is very little offered to the viewers on why these three patients chose to believe they were Christ. We are expected just to accept this and move one with the main focus of the movie which is the efforts of Dr Stone in trying to understand and find a way to treat schizophrenic patients without the cruel use of electric shock therapy. Our good doctor is soon encouraged by his progress with his patients as they begin to display less aggression, and even discovers weaknesses about himself along the way. Don't expect any insights into how a schizophrenic thinks or what could be the cause of such behaviour. The Joker provided far more insight to this than this.

This is heavy material and not necessarily something I would consider as entertaining. For me, to make it work, you will need a very strong script and matching performances to get the audience truly involved and invested in the drama that unfolds. After all most normal people would find it really difficult to identify with the antics of a mental patient. Richard Gere looked and acted appropriately old and tired here but there were no standout performances. For me, one of the most memorable movies about mental patients has got to be the Jack Nicholson classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That movie was so impactful that I can still remember how I hated the head nurse played by Louis Fetcher who went on to win an Academy Award for her performance. Alas, Three Christs is no Cuckoo's Nest. It may be based on a true story but it plays like fiction as the characters are portrayed as black and white, the good guys, the bad guys or the innocents. Key crucial events which should have supported the film's heart and soul, instead come across as something predictable and cliché. The gallant work by the real Dr Stone is admirable and should be celebrated but this movie I am afraid does not do it justice. It may be competently made with good performances but with material of such nature, this is not going to be enough to prevent the film from being boring. I wished I liked this better because of its underlying good intentions to share a remarkable story, but this just did not work for me. Perhaps you feel otherwise. Do let me know.