Mel Gibson In Conspiracy Theory (1997)
Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher – a New York taxi driver who is obsessed with conspiracy theories. He continually details these theories to regular passenger Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), who is a Justice Department lawyer. When one of his theories turns out to be true, however, Jerry becomes a target of shadowy, official types with guns, helicopters and a sinister Dr. Jonas (Patrick Stewart). Jerry is captured, taken to a secret location, drugged with LSD, strapped to a wheelchair and tortured.
With his eyes taped open, the drugged Jerry is bombarded with images and stimuli, intended to loosen his mind enough to provide Dr. Jonas with the information he seeks – but Jerry begins to experience terrifying hallucinations and flashbacks, suggesting these two men have a deeper, more historical connection. After a lengthy session of such abuse, Jerry manages to clamp his teeth down on the nose of Dr. Jonas, and escape – however, he is still experiencing the effects of his hallucinations.
What follows is a deeply disturbing sequence – the power of which is increased by Mel Gibson’s screams of blind panic. With his eyes still taped wide open, and blood smeared around his mouth, he wheels himself through the corridors of a mystery building – without having any idea of where he is, or where he is going – letting out howls of terror each time he turns to see his pursuer. The haunting sounds he makes are punctuated by crazed babbling, but with every shriek that explodes from this character, we can feel his loss of control. Having been traumatized by the torture, the enforced vulnerability and the breaking open of his mind, he struggles to differentiate between reality and hallucination, while experiencing the shocking realization that the thing he had feared all this time was very, very real.
– Sarah Myles
Published: Oct 21, 2014 11:16 pm