Review of Bigger Than Life (1956) by Alex B — 22 Jul 2010

An angry and urgent assault on the medical world that asks a lot of important questions and does not cater to the easy, temporary answers. Nicholas Ray grabs two subjects by the throat here and doesn't let go; the first is the disturbing lack of humanity in the medical world, where seeking the help of a pill costs less than seeking the help of a doctor; the second is the risk of the drugs we use themselves, and the often shocking consequences of playing god with modern medicine.

The drama works so well here because Ray has come up with the perfect conflict- a man becomes fatally ill and faces an expiration date of a couple of months; the solution? Take Cortisone four times a day for the rest of his life- a drug that has produced a number of horrible side effects, the worst being permanent psychosis.

So Ray asks the bold question the medical world was afraid to, and maybe still is: is it worth it? James Mason gives one of the finest performances any of Ray's films have to offer- which is saying something put next to James Dean's and Humphrey Bogart's.

He gets tremendous support from his family, Barbara Rush and Christopher Olsen, and Walter Matthau shines particularly bright as the concerned family friend who stays luckily suspicious all along. This is a dark, audacious journey and one that can be incredibly unsettling to watch, but it keeps its head above water and makes important observations we need to always keep in mind- more today than ever, perhaps.