PLOT SPOILERS!!!! Dr. Boch (George C. Scott) is the chief of medicine at a major NYC hospital. He's left his wife, his children have disowned him, he's impotent, drinks a lot and contemplates suicide. Also there's a killer roaming the hospital. Then he meets VERY strange Barbara (Diana Rigg) and falls in love. She wants him to run away with her--but can he completely give up on his old life and start a new one?
Very strange movie with an Oscar winning script by Paddy Chayefsky. It presents a suicidal main character and shows us a hospital full of overworked nurses and doctors that is run incompetently. It manages (somehow) to actually make this seem pretty funny. It's not laugh out loud humor--it's VERY black humor. Also the acting is right on target--Scott is just great (and Oscar nominated) here. You see him trying to keep his sanity in a totally crazy situation. Riggs character is more than a little odd but her matter of fact manner works and she's also incredibly beautiful. The script is strong and brutal--but never too much. I think it fumbles the ball at the end with a situation that goes way too over the top--but it's still worth seeing. If this had been done totally seriously it probably would be impossible to take. Also look for Katherine Helmond in a small bit and Stockard Channing and Christopher Guest in uncredited bits. I personally had trouble taking this seriously. From what I've heard hospitals WERE this bad back in the 1970s but not anymore. See it for the acting and script. I give it a 7.
Very strange movie with an Oscar winning script by Paddy Chayefsky. It presents a suicidal main character and shows us a hospital full of overworked nurses and doctors that is run incompetently. It manages (somehow) to actually make this seem pretty funny. It's not laugh out loud humor--it's VERY black humor. Also the acting is right on target--Scott is just great (and Oscar nominated) here. You see him trying to keep his sanity in a totally crazy situation. Riggs character is more than a little odd but her matter of fact manner works and she's also incredibly beautiful. The script is strong and brutal--but never too much. I think it fumbles the ball at the end with a situation that goes way too over the top--but it's still worth seeing. If this had been done totally seriously it probably would be impossible to take. Also look for Katherine Helmond in a small bit and Stockard Channing and Christopher Guest in uncredited bits. I personally had trouble taking this seriously. From what I've heard hospitals WERE this bad back in the 1970s but not anymore. See it for the acting and script. I give it a 7.