I've been wanting to see this, the last part of the "Mick Travis" (Malcolm McDowell) trilogy, for over a decade, and not sure why I waited until now. Perhaps it was unavailable back in the VHS days? Perhaps it was the relatively poor reputation in comparison with the two earlier films, If.... and O Lucky Man!, both of which I loved when I first saw them back in the 90s.
Well, perhaps I shouldn't have waited. Seeing this film in isolation didn't do it any favors in all probability. It's a jumbled mass of incoherent ideologies and ideas played out against the backdrop of "Britannia Hospital" which is getting ready for a visit by the Queen Mother while a strike rages and a mob gathers demanding justice for an African dictator residing in the luxurious "first class" room at the top of the hospital. The satire on British class couldn't be any more obvious, and the misanthropy is equal in savagery with the strongest of Twain's or Vonnegut's work though not nearly on a par in quality. It's fitting, and not really surprising, that Travis should die as he attempts to report on the goings-on of mad scientist Professor Millar (Graham Crowden, in the most entertaining performance in the film), but what is surprising is how bland and dull his character is, how meaningless his end as he becomes something of a Frankenstein creature. The finish to the film, as Millar addresses a crowd composed of all the principal groups that have been arguing and fighting throughout, is moving in its way but seems utterly out-of-keeping with the lunacy that has gone before, and the wrap-up far too abrupt and forced.
Honestly, I barely remember it a week later. A slightly positive mark for this DVD rental, because it did keep me entertained for a good chunk of it's running time, but that's probably being overly generous of me.
Well, perhaps I shouldn't have waited. Seeing this film in isolation didn't do it any favors in all probability. It's a jumbled mass of incoherent ideologies and ideas played out against the backdrop of "Britannia Hospital" which is getting ready for a visit by the Queen Mother while a strike rages and a mob gathers demanding justice for an African dictator residing in the luxurious "first class" room at the top of the hospital. The satire on British class couldn't be any more obvious, and the misanthropy is equal in savagery with the strongest of Twain's or Vonnegut's work though not nearly on a par in quality. It's fitting, and not really surprising, that Travis should die as he attempts to report on the goings-on of mad scientist Professor Millar (Graham Crowden, in the most entertaining performance in the film), but what is surprising is how bland and dull his character is, how meaningless his end as he becomes something of a Frankenstein creature. The finish to the film, as Millar addresses a crowd composed of all the principal groups that have been arguing and fighting throughout, is moving in its way but seems utterly out-of-keeping with the lunacy that has gone before, and the wrap-up far too abrupt and forced.
Honestly, I barely remember it a week later. A slightly positive mark for this DVD rental, because it did keep me entertained for a good chunk of it's running time, but that's probably being overly generous of me.