Review of Brainstorm

Having just watched Douglas Trumbull's first directorial feature, Silent Running, I finally decided to see the other full-length feature he made a decade later, Brainstorm. I'm well aware this was Natalie Wood's final film and that she died, during production, drowning under mysterious circumstances since I was a teen when it happened and that it occurred on the day after (or maybe on since she was found that way) my fourteenth birthday. Michael Brace (Christopher Walken) and his associate, Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher), have discovered a method that gets one to experience someone else's thoughts, feelings, and visions. When Alex Terson (Cliff Robertson) gets a demonstration, he's on board in sponsoring it. Michael's estranged wife, Karen (Ms. Wood) is also in. I'll stop there and say while there were some amazing visual effects and Ms. Reynolds' ultimate fate was hauntingly touching (as well as Michael's senses when he experiences it), there seemed to be an uneven tone almost throughout though I did like it when one associate used the thing for porn and seeing Michael and Karen's reconciliation after experiencing each other's feelings on the scan. I also thought James Horner's score was at times overwrought especially during the final Lillian fate scene. And that climatic chaotic slapstick scene seemed so out of place. Still, this was a pretty thought-provoking sci-fi drama and it's a shame Trumbull would no longer make another feature film because of his conflicts with the M-G-M studio executives over whether to scrap the film or continue on due to Ms. Wood's tragic accident...