Experimenter tells the story of social psychologist Stanley Milgram, famous for his "obedience experiments" at Yale University that convinced subjects to electrically shock other subjects "“ even if the person was objecting and the shocks were at dangerous levels. Director Michael Almereyda takes what could be a standard biopic, but through interesting stylistic choices, makes a refreshing, interesting look at Milgram's life.
Starring Peter Sarsgaard as Stanley Milgram and Winona Ryder as his wife Sasha, Experimenter chronicles the life of Stanley Milgram as he goes from young emerging psychologist, to world-famous author of Obedience to Authority. The film explores Milgram's motivations for being so fascinated with authority. Being Jewish and having parents who moved to the US to escape Nazism, Milgram is obsessed with understanding why such genocides can happen. What motivates humans to act in such violent, uncivilized manners? It's a fascinating question that still resonates today. Sarsgaard is ever-cool as Milgram, who seems to keep a scientific distance from everyone he knows and his narration of his own life is done as if reading off a case study, not as if he was retelling his own life.
What truly makes Experimenter stand out, is Almereyda's stylistic choices. Many of the sets are theatrical. Backdrops are often huge screens with file footage on them, emphasizing that these are recreations and not actual scenes. Milgram himself often breaks the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience to express his inner thoughts. At a few points in the film, Milgram walks down a hallway talking to the audience speaking about his nagging motivations while being followed by an actual elephant. These dry visual gags serve to further illustrate Milgram's sense of humor.
Experimenter could have been like any other biopic"¦ however, with Almereyda as director and Sarsgaard as the star, it's hard to tear yourself away. Full of memorable visuals, great acting, and fascinating motivations, Experimenter leaves audiences with a better understanding of Milgram and plenty ponder after the final scene ends.
