CRAZY, NOT INSANE
US, 2020, 117 minutes, Colour.
Narrated by Laura Dern.
Directed by Alex Gibney.
Alex Gibney is a prolific director of documentaries and television series (50 by 2020) and has produced more than 90. He won an Oscar for his documentary on Afghanistan, prison and torture, Taxi to the Darkside. He has also produced films, exposes on Enron, Lance Armstrong strong as well as on Scientology.
Gibney seems quite enthusiastic about the work of forensic psychologist, Dorothy Lewis. This is her film. It has to be said that not everyone is in agreement with her, especially in her developments on dissociative personality disorder, multiple personalities. There are some voices of criticism throughout the film, especially celebrity psychiatrist, Park Dietz.
Dorothy Lewis is an engaging personality on screen, going back to her Jewish roots, and intrigued with Hitler (and saying that she would like to have interviewed him but this came with her interviews with serial killers). She trained at Yale, got a job working with juvenile offenders which led to her better understanding of their conditions, the neurology, the working of the brain (and the question as to whether they can be pure evil).
Dorothy visits her husband's grave, is shown with her children, one of whom her manuscripts and written. We see them at home, Dorothy easily lounging around the house reflecting on her life and work (with her voice-over from actress, Laura Dern).
There has been a lot of speculation from the mid 20th century to the present on theories of neurology, criminal intent, craziness, sanity and insanity.
The main part of the film is interesting because we are able to see excerpts from Dorothy's interviews with several serial killers' listening to the interviews, their comments, acceptance of guilt or not, those with multiple personality describing the behaviour of the other persons. The candidature range from a middle-aged man, Shawcross, to two younger offenders. They are all executed However, when Dorothy is invited to participate in the Ted Bundy case, a considerable amount of the film shows interviews with Bundy himself but also investigation into his family background (Dorothy Lewis indicating that so many of the serial killers suffered abuse in their childhood, dysfunctional families).
Certainly, Dorothy Lewis has contributed to discussions about criminal behaviour, neurological dysfunction, responsibility, motivations, the possibility of dissociative personalities. While the last word has not been spoken, this film is very supportive of her, her theories, her practice.
