The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Starring Billy Crudup, Michael Angarano, Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan

Directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez

The Story:
Based off the actual experiment in 1971, Doctor Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup) enlists several Standford students to conduct a two-week experiment: divide them up into guards and prisoners and place them in a fictional prison and see how it affects their psychological being.  The experiment was supposed to last two weeks, but it was canceled after six days.  This film shows why.

The Synopsis:
"The Stanford Prison Experiment" is the third film that focuses on this harrowing true-life tale, the first released in 2001 and another in 2010 starring Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker.  What I appreciate about this film as opposed to the other two is that the experiment focused on young college students, while the previous two outings had adults in their roles.  It was more interesting - and uncomfortable - seeing the events play out through the eyes of youth.

Speaking of youth, the actors playing the roles of the guards and prisoners are a venerable who's who of the modern Hollywood scene.  It's fun to play a movie connection game between these actors:
Michael Angarano and Nicholas Braun were both in "Sky High" and "Red State"
Ezra Miller, Johnny Simmons and Nicholas Braun were all in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Billy Crudup and Michael Angarano were both in "Almost Famous"
Ki Hong Lee and Chris Sheffield were both in "The Maze Runner"
Keir Gilchrist and Thomas Mann were both in "It's Kind of a Funny Story"
Thomas Mann and Matt Bennett were both in "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl"
Tye Sheridan and Logan Miller were both in "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse"

That was fun.

Back to the story, these actors gave their all, and there are some truly cringe-worthy moments, but there's little to no backstory to these characters, so when prisoners are known as numbers, that's all we know them as as well.  They're interchangeable and you forget what's happening to what person.  There also seems to be very repetitive scenes in the bloated two-hour run-time, which becomes boring and monotonous. 

As for the experiment itself, I'd love to see an actual documentary showcasing the events that occurred.  It's known as the most vile experiment ever conducted, but it did achieve some results.  It shows how we tend to follow people with authority blindly, just because they're given a uniform or a title.  Even the most reprehensible things, we're prone to do them when we're instructed by someone in authority.  What is it that makes us follow so willingly?  Is it something built into our nature?  We still don't know for sure, but it does raise intriguing questions.

The Summary:
While I eagerly wait for a real documentary on the subject, I'll settle with films like this, even though it seems more happened than even the films tell us.

The Score: B+