Three Christs (2017) User Reviews

A Good Job With a Difficult Subject

[Moviegoer19 · 7/10 · 18 January 2020]

I started out watching this film with some skepticism as psychiatric patients are so often misrepresented. As someone who worked in a state psychiatric facility for a couple of decades, I'm quite familiar with paranoid schizophrenics, and I have to say they were aptly portrayed in Three Christs. I'm not familiar with the study on which it is based but it did influence a lot of what was to come in treatment for these kinds of patients. The message that came across is one that I incorporated into my practice: treating people with respect, dignity, warmth and caring does wonders. The delusions may not go away, but they recede into the background as the patients start to feel cared for and better about life in general. That "Dr. Stone/Stein" was a warm and caring doctor is unquestionable, at least according to the film, and that in itself is a great model for any psychiatric student to emulate.

Aside from that, the film, I believe, would have a limited audience as most people are not terribly interested in the subject. Even someone like me who is interested in the subject found the film boring in select passages. Overall, the actors did a good job with the material.

in Gods we trust

[ferguson-6 · 5/10 · 8 January 2020]

Greetings again from the darkness. Based on the actual events documented in the book "The Three Christs of Ypsilanti" by Social Psychologist Milton Rokeach, the film turns ground-breaking work from 60 years ago into a generic, somewhat bland big screen production ... albeit with a talented cast. Director Jon Avnet (FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, 1991) co-wrote the script with Eric Nazarian, and they evidently believed the strong cast would be enough. Instead, we get what in days past would have been described as the TV movie of the week.

The actual story is quite interesting. Dr. Alan Stone (the dramatized version of Dr. Rokeach) is played here by a blond-haired Richard Gere. Dr. Stone comes to Michigan's Ypsilanti State Hospital in 1959 to study delusions of schizophrenics. Up to that time, we are informed that only extreme treatments were utilized, with minimal psychoanalysis practiced. Dr, Stone's approach is through therapeutic treatments. Specifically, he arranges for group therapy consisting of only three patients - each who claims to be God/Christ. Leon (Walton Goggins) demands to be addressed as God. He is the most perceptive of the three, though it's quite clear, he mostly wants a friend. Joseph (Peter Dinklage) says he is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, though he speaks with a British accent, listens to opera, and wants only to return to England (a place he's never been). Clyde (Bradley Whitford) claims to be Christ "not from Nazareth", and he spends much of each day in the shower attempting to scrub away a stench that only he can smell.

The film is at its best, and really only works, when the doctor and the three patients are in session. It allows the actors to play off each other, and explores the premise of how they go about working through the confusion of having each believe the same thing ... while allowing Dr Stone's approach to play out. Where things get murky and clog up the pacing are with the number of additional characters who bring nothing of substance to the story. Stone's wife Ruth (Julianna Margulies in a throwaway role) pops up periodically with alcoholic tendencies or a pep talk for hubby. Stone's young research assistant Becky (Charlotte Hope, "Game of Thrones") seems to be present only as an object of desire for all the Gods, and to remind us of the era's drug experimentation. And beyond those, Stone carries on a constant battle with hospital administrators played by Kevin Pollack, Stephen Root, and a rarely-seen-these-days Jane Alexander (we shouldn't forget she's a 4-time Oscar nominee).

Alec Baldwin's "I am God" from MALICE is still the best, but it's always fun to watch a God complex ... and this film offers four. The story is bookended with Dr Stone dictating his preparatory notes for a hearing on his professional actions, and the film does serve as a reminder that electroshock therapy and severe drug therapy are likely not as effective as empathy for many patients. It's rare that God, Freud and Lenny Bruce are all quoted in the same film, but mostly this one just never pushes far enough.

Fairly solid tale of liberal psychologist's therapy with schizophrenics, under fire by rigid administrators at a State Mental Hospital

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 13 January 2020]

Three Christs is based on the book Three Christs of Ypsilanti by noted social psychologist, Milton Rokeach, who treated three schizophrenics, all with the same delusion they were Jesus Christ. The film is set at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, where Rokeach treated the three men as part of a research study between 1959 and 1961.

The protagonist, Dr. Alan Stone (based on Rokeach) is played by an earnest but good Richard Gere. Stone conscripts his "Three Christs", Joseph (Peter Dinklage) a dwarf who believes he's a sophisticated Englishman, Leon (Walton Goggins), son of an abusive religious fanatic and Clyde (Bradley Whitford), whose wife died following a botched abortion.

It's Stone's conviction that psychotherapy is preferable to shock treatment, lobotomies or anti-psychotic drugs, so he gets the idea if he puts his Three Christs in the same room, they might be able help one another (of course under his caring supervision). He hires a young assistant, Becky (Charlotte Hope), who has her own issues (a brother committed suicide following bouts of mental illness).

Stone is treated as a do-gooder liberal by the powers that be at the hospital including Dr. Rogers (Stephen Root), his so-called mentor who initially brought him for the study project. Stone ends up directly clashing with the chief of staff, Dr. Orbus (Kevin Pollack) , who is entirely unsympathetic toward Stone's type of therapy and threatens to go to Rogers and have him shut the project down at the first sign of trouble from his patients.

The first half of the second act depicts Stone attempting to gain the trust of his Three Christs with mixed results. At one point Joseph has a meltdown and the staff forces him to undergo electroshock therapy. With that setback, Rogers threatens to shut the study down but Stone gets a reprieve after Rogers agrees to wait for a review from Dr. Abraham (Jane Alexander), who apparently has the final decision as to having the study continue.

Usually at the midpoint there's something a little more dramatic for the protagonist who often is forced to move in a new direction. The complications in the second half of act two aren't very pronounced in comparison with the first half-there's more of the same problems with the Three Christs who are each on the verge of having a breakdown and becoming completely psychotic.

Screenwriters Eric Nazarian and co-writer Jon Avnet (also the film's director) introduce a subplot involving Stone's wife, Ruth (Julianna Margulies), a thankless role in which the wife's alcoholism threatens to undermine Stone, already under extreme pressure at the hospital, for his unwelcome experiment.

Despite some of the repetitious machinations of the Three Christs, things begin to pick up when Stone is featured on the cover of Psychology Today; Orbus decides that a less punitive stance toward the study patients might help him get noticed among his psychologist peers, just like Stone. Orbus meets with Joseph who sees right through him and ends up threatening the deceitful administrator. This leads to the major setback for the protagonist at the end of the second act when Stone attacks one of doctors who administers electroshock to Joseph, who in turn ends up committing suicide by jumping from Orbus' tower office.

Stone then must extricate himself from the third act crisis when he faces loss of his license and the shutting down of his study project. Dr. Abraham (equivalent to a Wizard of Oz type character) shuts the project down but then gives Stone the opportunity to take his two surviving patients to NYC where he can continue working with them. Orbus receives his comeuppance when he's forced to retire.

Three Christs I suppose is a feel good film about the psychotherapeutic professions It posits a bit of a pie-in-the-sky outlook as it presupposes that the patients Dr. Stone was working with were not hopeless cases and deep down had "hearts of gold" (not all psychiatric patients, on the other hand, are necessarily like that in real life).

Ironically, Rokeach came to reject his own experiment with the Three Christs, stating that he adopted an unfair "Godlike" stance, manipulating his patients, essentially against their will.The stories of the Three Christs eventually becomes a bit too much but the tension between the rival brands of psychiatry and psychotherapy, keep things moving until the dramatic dark moment at the end of the second act.

Dramatization of a real 1960s psychological study.

[TxMike · 31 July 2020]

Milton Rokeach was an American social psychologist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s worked in a Michigan mental institution and devised an approach to study three different men, each who claimed to be the real Jesus Christ. His approach was to put the three men together and have sessions, eliminating their contact with other patients.

The movie is less of a biography and more of a dramatization of what all went on. Richard Gere is in the role of the doctor, and they changed his name to Dr. Stone. Truthfully the movie moves pretty slowly most times and I can understand that some viewers might become bored and abandon the viewing. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library and found it worthwhile. All the actors, most very accomplished, are uniformly good in their roles.

This is just a well-made movie of a curious chapter in human psychology.

The use of LSD in this film is wildly inaccurate

[daydrmer · 6/10 · 16 February 2021]

Decent movie, great cast and some clever humour but the use of LSD is far from realistic. For a more accurate depiction of psychedelics please watch Midsommar.

Amazingly Beautiful Minds

[albertval-69560 · 7/10 · 3 March 2022]

This is an engrossing film with a very intriguing premise: if you treat 3 paranoid, schizophrenic patients each of whom thinks he is Jesus Christ isolating them from other mental patients in a state hospital, will one dominate the others or will they learn to bring joy, hope and companionship to their fellows? Dr. Alan Stone and his Psychology intern, thinks he can do the latter.

This story unfolds in the 60s when the accepted treatment for psychiatric patients is harsh and inhumane by today's standards. It consisted of either shock therapy, use of drugs or lobotomy. Dr. Stone would not have none of those because he believes these so-called clinical protocols simply "warehoused" the patients, not treated them. He believed rather in exploring their mind, understanding it by means of gentle interactions with the patients. The establishment thought this was crossing the boundary of "normal clinical protocols." But he asserts that without risks, there can be no breakthroughs.

Peter Dinklage stands out as patient Joseph Cassel. He inhabits the role and you deeply empathize with him and what happens to him. The same is true with Walton Goggins as Leon Gabor with all his pent-up libidinal urges and philosophical ruminations about identity. And we certainly relate with Richard Gere as Alan Stone whose persistence amidst resistance from his colleagues is commendable.

So, the question that the viewer asks is, did he succeed? There's only one way to find out.

Uneasy pacing.

[faidai · 6/10 · 25 February 2022]

I approached this film with some trepidation as I'm not particularly keen on Richard Gere but the premise intrigued me. Gere was pretty much as expected, unconvincing as the psychiatrist, not displaying any of the warmth & empathy that the doctor, on whose work the film is based, must have had in abundance. The idea of humanising patients was contrary to the practice of psychiatry then &, unfortunately, is still prevalent in some measure up to the present day.

What lifts the film is the truly extraordinary cadre of Christs. The performances of Dinklage & Goggins, in particular, are wonderful. All three actors portray their "Chist" with sensitivity & nuance but are hampered by the uneven pacing of the film throughout. Some skilful directing &/or editing could have tightened up the storyline, ensuring that the viewer's attention was fully engaged at all times. Instead, I found myself checking the run time & fighting the urge to fast forward about three quarters of the way in!

In short, a film that would have benefitted from tighter direction & a different actor as the psychiatrist, saved by the three glorious performances of the trinity of Christs.

Good acting in a not so good movie

[syldt1 · 5/10 · 16 July 2021]

Such talented actors, somewhat wasted in a meandering story overly loaded with clichés and melodrama. There's a compelling story somewhere underneath all the quirkiness and over-dramatic options, but it never fully surfaces. It feels too staged, even like a play, and I never fully believed that I was seeing real people other than such talented actors. The performance is still worth watching, especially that of the Three Christs, they are all brilliant in their uncharacteristic roles.

Dinklage in a cuckoo's nest

[laurent-milot · 9/10 · 14 September 2017]

"Three Christs" was a last minute choice of mine at the TIFF. As a big Dinklage's fan, and considering that it was a world premiere, it was easy enough to go check it out. I'm glad I did. This movie is one about the brain and its struggles, but it does so with a big heart. It's funny and touching with a good balance, and the acting is top notch (I'm actually a bigger Dinklage's fan after the movie). The underlying themes about psychiatry as science and its potential negative effect on personality, the nature of identity, the complex interaction of desire and fear are inhabiting the film and are as relevant today as they were at the time. In summary, a great entertaining movie with a deeper layer... and a stellar Dinklage!

Could have been a better film

[Kingslaay · 6/10 · 19 June 2022]

Despite its promising premise and subject matter, Three Christs (or State of Mind) falls short and is disappointing. The film feels like a ship without a captain. It drifts aimlessly and fails to cover any significant ground in the first half. Perhaps the psychology and greater depth into the 3 mental patients could have been better. What we get instead is random ramblings from each person and its hard to piece together what they're driving at. The second half is far better and goes somewhere. I felt there was a good story to be told here but poor direction and production made it mediocre. Not even a strong cast could carry this film.

Skip It

[calivsey · 3/10 · 3 February 2020]

The actors certainly give it their best, but the strong performances are not enough to make up for an unremarkable script. It has its moments, but at just under two hours, the film drags. Three Christs has an interesting premise, but unfortunately, the execution is a failure.

Heart felt true story

[nitro_head · 8/10 · 25 April 2020]

Starting with a captivating title and moving on to true events about early years of psychotherapy and defying the norms, and the evolution of doctor-patient relationship. This was a lovely portrayed peace of psychiatry history. I have to commend the alpha level of acting from everybody in the movie as it was filled with emotions of success, disappointment, fear with hope and belief in one's vision. An enjoyable movie indeed

Good movie

[fluffchop · 6/10 · 31 December 2021]

Enjoyable to watch. I'm not a fan of drama but I knew Richard Gere playing a Doctor would be another perfect role for him. He does this really well. It's not your typical boring drama where things drag. You have a genuine interest in the patients and the progression of the treatment.

Watch the podcast by Things you should know instead

[jmgimbel · 1/10 · 3 August 2021]

Reading how this unethical experiment was made into "major motion picture, all star cast" is nauseating. It was wrong of Rokeach to use the real men, harm them.

Truly Misguided

[breakthelights · 27 September 2021]

The complexity of the source material should not be portrayed in the "uplifting" manor that this film presents. It's honestly disgusting. Treating human beings like rats should be depicted with more nuance and subtlety, not bloated theatrics.

Christ

[Mysterygeneration · 6/10 · 14 February 2024]

Director Jon Avnet explores the intricate realm of psychiatric therapy in "Three Christs," taking cues from the seminal work of social psychologist Milton Rokeach. Three schizophrenic patients who are all persuaded they are Jesus Christ are treated revolutionary treatment sessions by Dr. Alan Stone (played by Richard Gere) at the core of the movie.

The characters are portrayed with commitment, but they are only superficial anomalies. During that time, harsh electroshocks and strong pharmaceuticals were commonplace; in contrast, Dr. Stone's compassionate approach stands in contrast. Regrettably, the movie simplifies this setting to simple good vs evil dynamics rather than thoroughly exploring it.

Another layer is provided by Ruth, the wife of Dr. Stone (played by Julianna Margulies). Her current position and previous work as an assistant both emphasize casual sexism. This subplot is still undeveloped, though.

The movie has a certain charm even though it lacks artistic flair. The film's sharpness is periodically blunted by Jeff Russo's emotional score.

"Three Christs" has the potential to be more than just a cheesy knockoff of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." It provides insights on identity, ethics, and psychology despite its shortcomings.

It's a sh...t

[robertgugala · 2/10 · 10 November 2020]

Sorry, it's far away from famous psychiatric case study The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach. Weekness of everything. A Weakness for Almost Everything

Emotional and moving

[james-31978 · 9/10 · 12 January 2020]

I rated this so high because I work in mental health and it connects with me but to the everyday person I would say allow this film to unfold, it has very believable character performances which are easy to follow and as the film progresses you become attached to

Well done, too cleanly for 1959, much more cold inhumane ie one flew over the cuckoo's nest

[pointsoflifeforpain · 5/10 · 6 February 2020]

I'm black born 1957 Mobile AL, 37yrs GP solo primary care doctor, board certified Family Medicine, 30 years using complimentary alternative integrative modalities, Chiropractic, osteopathy, acupuncture, myofascial chronic pain therapy per Matriarch master of Medicine Janet G. Travell, MD. John F Kennedy's Doctor Who help restore him the function efficiently as the president. She and her staff used a 27 part reparative curative recipe published in the 1980s. Including all those therapies in combinations: A. Daily Hands-On massage deep tissue release. B. spinal unwinding, traction, spinal manipulation. C. Acupuncture needling along the paraspinous muscles. E. More intense hypodermic intramuscular needling in the more scarred muscle tissues. F. Preventative self-care, diet, intake, minerals, supplements, wellness and sleep hygiene. G. Crucially related to this movie are vitamins minerals Trace elements, neurotransmitter stabilizers including tricyclics antidepressants helps to restore mental clarity, deep emotional upheaval, deep psychological trauma, shell shocked, combat stress disorder, and battle fatigue. aka bipolar, mania, delusional antipsychotic disorders. H. Educating the patient on their own disease so they can take care of themselves.

I learned all of these during my tenure in various aspects of practice.

Crucially at Malcolm Grow medical center treating Vietnam Vets with the core recipe. Over the past 20 years I added an acupuncture which is crucial and critical therapy for all afflictions.

Atrociously all the above therapies are not, have not been recognized by the American medical Association and banned marginalize and discouraged from the standards of care ... Since the ~1920s!

It turns out that the original doctors who established our Healthcare system intentionally excluded criminally excluded everything conceivable except drugs and surgery both have no effect affect on the multitude of signs and symptoms of everyday stress and strain ie battle fatigue which is deadly if I'm touched. Which it is an as a result 20 to 23 veterans blow their heads off every day due to medical negligence quackery sham scams magic tricks witchcraft, worthless toxic chemicals because Physicians have lost their freaking Minds!

In my opinion this movie cleans up the ruthlessness and gruesome in the wake of genocide hold behaviors at the hands of medical doctors and our federal government and the citizens who don't give a s***.

Great movie

[mouna-64001 · 10/10 · 11 January 2020]

I am not familiar with the book. But as psychiatrist, I found this movie very interesting. A good movie for medical students and those intrested in the mental health's treatments.

Eighty eight reasons to not watch this

[TheNiggardlyTimes · 1/10 · 1 December 2023]

I've got eighty eight reasons for you to not watch this garbage and all them are Julianna Margulies. This woman can't act her way out of wet paper bag with help from the audience. It's almost as if she's trying to bully the watchers into believing her completely inadequate performance is an amazing feat. Julianna MarguLIES is not a talented actress. It's too bad because this film could have been ok had it not been for her participation. But because she is in it, it is an unbearable endless grating on one's nerves. Why can't Hollywood find more talented actresses? Who sound like women and not livestock?

.

[malshebangg · 16 May 2019]

It's a good movie .....................................

Don't expect much, and you'll get more.

[movieswithgreg · 5/10 · 20 August 2020]

This is a slice from the Cuckoo's Nest genre, with a real-world spin from the psychiatrists' point of view. This is a very acty movie, something that looks directly lifted from the stage, but I don't know if it was. The script is not particularly heart-felt, so it does little to manipulate you, so that's a blessing. The downside of that is that there's less emotional payoff at the end. The writing just doesn't make me want to care for the patients.

The script does try to flesh out various aspects of the characters' lives, and it starts down that road, then stops. Is it excessive editing? Lack of money? The acting is good enough, certainly.

Bottomline: this inoffensive film started with ambitions, then almost seems to abandon them halfway through the third act.

Superb acting!

[catpetroccia · 8/10 · 30 November 2020]

This is reminiscent of cuckoo's nest but more dramatic and a bit less comedic. The cast, though, is what I loved about this movie. Excellent acting!!! It's a little slow at times, but be sure to watch this to the end!

Wasted opportunity

[radhrh · 5/10 · 20 April 2022]

While this dramatisation of true events is engaging enough I can't help thinking what a missed opportunity this movie is. There is a story here about mental patients suffering from delusion and being treated by a doctor who says "NO, you are not Jesus". I can't help thinking today the doctor would agree that they are in fact Christ and dress them up in robes and maybe even a crown of thorns. Perhaps a bit of surgery to make their physical form conform to their delusion, how about holes in the palms where the nails past through?

While I wasn't expecting an updated version of "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" there was potential to examine mental illness, it's treatment and societies attitudes towards the mentally ill. These themes are touched upon but nothing more than the softest of touches.

Richard Gere and Peter Dinklage put in decent performances but the other two patients were not all that convincing putting in bog standard crazy people acts. The rest of the cast are just there because the script requires someone to say an uninspired line now and again. The direction is flat and the cinematography boring. There is one scene where the Doctor's assistant takes LSD, surely an opportunity for a bit of trippy film making in the style of The Monkeys "Head". Not a bit of it, she talks some giberish about not knowing where her body ends before being taken away by a nurse. When she reappears presumably hours later she is on her way down yet still has nothing insightful to say about her experience. Then she sips some coffee and throws up. Really? Really.......