THE HOSPITAL
US, 1971,102 minutes, Colour.
George C. Scott, Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes, Nancy Marchand.
Directed by Arthur Hiller.
The Hospital is a Paddy Chayevsky black comedy parable (Marty, Bachelor Party, The Americanisation of Emily) for which he won an Oscar for the Best Screenplay for 1971. At first, one is inclined to take the whole proceedings seriously. But soon one realises the exaggerations and the satire and the grim humour becomes more telling. The hospital itself is a microcosm of a sick, inefficient, oppressing, depersonalised world.
George C. Scott is excellent as the depressed chief doctor who longs for sanity or death and is forced to choose between personal peace and his responsibility.
Arthur Hiller (Love Story, Plaza Suite, Man of La Mancha etc.) directed. He also directed Chayefsky's The Americanisation of Emily (1964).
A bitter satire worth discussing.
1. Was it immediately evident that this film was a parable about the world and had to be accepted as such for it to make sense, or did it take some time for this to come across to the audience? What would an audience think about the film if it responded to it solely on the level of narrative realism?
2. How effective is this kind of sardonic humour (with its farcical overtones) in communicating a message?
3. How did the film indicate that the hospital was meant to be a symbol of our world? Was this overdone or did it make sense and impact?
4. The message of the film seemed to be one of doom-warning. The word 'apocalyptic' could be used? What does this mean in terms of the end of the world in ultimate disaster?
5. The film had religious overtones. Was it religious?
6. What was wrong with the hospital? Why did things go wrong in the hospital? Whose fault was it? Why did patients die, suffer, not get attention or healing?
7. Dr. Bock was the central character. How did he fit into the world of the hospital? What kind of man was he? (20th century, almost-alienated man?) Why was he so depressed? Why did he try to kill himself? Why was he a success and a failure? Why did he want to shed himself of everything? He said he was wedded to the hospital. Why had he allowed this to happen? How bitter were his comments on his wife and children? "Power to the impotent".
8. What points were made in the sequences of Dr. Bock's talk with the psychiatrist, with Barbara, the 'sexual therapy'?
9. Was Barbara an important character for the theme? How? How did her life-story epitomise 20th century groping for meaning in life? Did she believe in everything? How important was she in offering some kind of meaningful choice to Dr. Bock? What did she, her dream and her offer symbolise? (How did her love and sympathy seem 'realistic' in the midst of the hospital's farce?
10. How important was Dr. Drummond's role in the film? He was Saviour-figure as well as avenging angel. How did his madness compare with that of life in the hospital? his Pentecostal visions, the Indian dancing, the role of God and the Paraclete - how much truth was there in this madness? He quoted the Book of St. John’s Apocalypse - Seventh Seal, Avenging Angel, Bottomless Pit - what meaning did this give to the film?
11. How did life in the hospital seem by the end of the film? - death's inefficiency, exploitation, bureaucracy, mistakes, money-minded, understaffing, training, management, social injustice? It was all a madhouse world. How mad? How bad?
12. How important was the social issue - authority, control, public good, private enterprise, chaos with government and authority and without it?
13. What was Dr. Bock’s final choice? Were the alternatives well and clearly presented? Why did he make his choice? Love ceded place to responsibility. Is a sense of responsibility and responsible action the only answer? Was it a satisfying answer to the problems posed in the film?
14. Is awareness of world-madness helped by black comedies like this? How?
