Review of The Experiment (2010) by Remi L — 03 Jul 2011

This movie is quite the trip. The Experiment is based on the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment of the 70s where a bunch of college students volunteered to play prison guard and inmates. It took them 3 days before they started believing their roles were real. This movie takes a few liberties but the results (and viewer reaction, I imagine) are the same: a group of men volunteer to take part in this experiment but quickly begin to buy into their roles and physical and psychological abuse ensue.

Its frightening because it speaks to our humanity. Are we really no different from animals? Do we only act civilized because of society? Would we be no different than "primitive" civilizations without our government and law enforcement? While this movie is violent, I was much more disturbed by the non-violent, psychological ways the guards abused the inmates. Forest Whitaker can be frightening as a villain and Adrien Brody is very believable as a pacifist. I also have to admire David Banner for taking on these small, understated roles in this indie movies. He could've easily continued doing films like Stomp The Yard 2 or ATL and coasted on being a rapper-trying-to-be-an-actor but I feel like he's taking his roles seriously and am curious to see what he'll do next. Its also freaky how well Clifton Collins Jr can pull off playing a Caucasian actor. Lots of good performances here but the main thing is de-evolution of the inmates and guards and seeing how each of them handles it.