The read
Critics rate it 23 points higher than audiences do. It runs a compact 1h 24m.
Synopsis
Employing methods of direct cinema–observation, limited stylization, and non-intervention–this stark look into the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts shows its denizens, who were often kept in barren cells and infrequently bathed, forced to strip naked publicly, force feeding, and the indifference and bullying by many of the hospital's staff.
Ratings
IMDb7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes100%
Critics rate it 23 points higher than audiences do.
154 audience votes
Key crew
- Frederick WisemanDirector
- Frederick WisemanWriter
Stills
Themes
insane asylumpsychiatric hospitaljailmental patientprison brutalityshockingdirect cinemaobservational cinemaprison lifecriminally insaneprisoner abusepsychiatric treatment