What
does it mean to be human? The question turns out to be far more
interesting than the answer in Altered
States,
written by Paddy Chayefsky (Network)
and directed by Ken Russell (Tommy).
On a technical level, Altered
States
is a well-made "body horror" film, replete with some of Ken
Russell's finest psychedelic sequences, but ultimately the movie
fails to deliver satisfying answers to its own tantalizing questions
and a lapse into Hollywood-drenched heteronormativity in the final
act reduces an intellectually engrossing setup into a mundane
resolution.(read more...)
