Review of Experimenter (2015) by Jessica T — 13 Nov 2015

An aesthetically precise and astute portrait of psychologist Stanley Milgram and his infamous obedience studies.

Milgram's methods are now considered unethical, but his elucidations remain timeless. As the film asserts, Milgram's experiment plays out in the real world any time an agreeable, intelligent, and rational person puts aside their personal feelings or morals to follow protocols imposed by an authority figure. As Milgram states, "[when] a person comes to view themselves as the instrument for carrying out another person's wishes... [they] no longer see themselves as responsible for their actions." They have rationalized their actions by shifting responsibility onto the authority. According to Milgram, this dissociation of personal responsibility is what allows systematic, widespread atrocities like the Holocaust to occur.

Disquieting and provocative, "Experimenter," like its subject, leaves something to reflect upon, long after the debriefing.