Review of The Experiment (2010) by Jori P — 28 Nov 2010

It feels like a shorter Lord of the Flies without the flies if you catch my drift!

I wish the movie was much longer. Especially getting to know some of the Prison Guards and Prisoners better in supporting roles. The feature also lacks an satisfying conclusion. But still, strong performances by Oscar-Winner:Brody, Oscar-Winner:Whitaker (His role shows shades of "The Last King of Scotland"), Gignadet and Fimmel makes this picture worth watching. Usually talented character actor:Clifton Collins Jr. is sadly wasted in a underwritten role as one of the prisoners.

Interesting story, slowly built, tensed, well portrayed characters (not just the main two), excellent acting (Brody and Whitaker especially), but in the end unfortunately fails to materialize all that in to something more. Apart from the plain ending and unnecessary undeveloped female character, everything else was done right and it is a gripping thriller indeed.

Probably the most important is that the movie succeeds in the main idea, catching the human nature and its transformation placed in certain conditions. As expected blinding of power and rebelling makes the violence slowly but surely spreads and the movie becomes more disturbing.

The Stanford prison experiment was about group dynamics when people were assigned roles of prisoners and guards but the movie only revolves around the two main characters most of the time, with others being almost entirely absent. As group dynamics do not really get into play, they miss many opportunities for personality development, which is what made the actual experiment interesting in the first place.

Due to the complete lack of character development (with one exception) the movie feels rather dull and the behavior of the characters, as well as their backgrounds, suggest that the researchers had knowingly picked individuals who had mental or other problems in the past. Even though the plot is about as linear as it can get, it is still full of holes.

The Experiment is a 2010 American thriller film directed by Paul Scheuring and starring Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker,Cam Gigandet and Maggie Grace.The film is also a remake of the 2001 German film Das Experiment, which was directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The experiment begins when 26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control. $14,000 for two weeks, it is easy-earned money. The study examines aggressive behavior in an artificial prison setting. At first the tenants are divided randomly into prisoners and guards, but soon a spiral of violence begins.

26 men are chosen to participate in the roles of guards and prisoners in a psychological study that ultimately spirals out of control.