I wonder about how much the men who make these films think about women. Not what they think of them -- that’s honestly less interesting to me. I wonder how often they think of them; whether they ever put thought into what those women are thinking and feeling, if they ever wonder why individual women do what they do.
Altered States isn’t a film about women, or gender, or gender roles. Not really. It’s a film about a brilliant scientist and the lengths he’ll go and the sacrifices he’ll make for the sake of revelation, a tale as old as Frankenstein. It ends more happily than Frankenstein, as civilization and love and normality pull this genius back from the brink. But I kept thinking about women.
Blair Brown’s Emily is introduced as a brilliant mind, one able to keep up with her brilliant husband. She and William Hurt’s Edward fall into a weirdly cold affair, get married, and nearly break up when his research consumes him. We learn that Emily gave up a professorship at Harvard for Edward’s sake. He makes no comparable sacrifice for her, until the end, when his dormant love for her causes him to save her life. Her sacrifice is not revisited. Instead, Emily becomes a symbol of love and obligation, one that tethers Edward to the real world when he almost fully retreats into his work and his fantasies.
I like Altered States a lot. I generally love Ken Russell’s work, even when I can’t shake the odd feeling that his films ultimately don’t amount to much. I’m not sure this film amounts to much; its themes have been treated better elsewhere. Notably, Cronenberg’s The Fly has essentially the same plot, and is generally cleaner and neater, but allows the romantic relationship to be central, which gives the film's ending a tragic tint it might not have had otherwise. Altered States, like all of Russell’s films, is a damn mess, but it’s also beautiful and haunting and defiantly weird. There’s a lot to admire. Young William Hurt was a babe, which also helps.
But all the way through I kept thinking about Emily. Why was she doing what she was doing? Why did she sacrifice everything for this admittedly handsome but cold and usually mean man? Why do women in stories like this always do that? Where are the stories about women whose work carries them away, who destroy relationships for the sake of discovery, and where are the men who patiently wait for them?
Would I Recommend?
I would, honestly. The performances are so-so, but it’s beautifully shot and the dream sequences are genuinely incredible. It’s not my favorite Russell or my favorite version of this type of story (those would be Women in Love and the aforementioned The Fly, respectively) but it’ll do. It’s worth watching.
#######Clips
I’m telling you, the hallucination sequences are great: