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The Lobotomist
The adage has it that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is evident from this revealing portrait of neurologist Walter Freeman-the originator of the infamous "ice pick" lobotomy-that good intentions without sober analysis can indeed have hellish consequences.
This film by Barak Goodman and John Maggio chronicles the rise and fall of one of medicine's most exalted and reviled figures. Using a series of interviews, film clips, and historical photographs, The Lobotomist reveals the history and motivation behind Freeman's ill-fated- and arguably,shameful-misadventure in neurosurgery. The film leaves no doubt that Freeman began with the noblest of ideals: to reduce the suffering of thousands of severely impaired patients,warehoused in unspeakably inhumane asylums across the United States. Indeed, to the film's credit, Freeman is not depicted as a monster or a madman; rather, he comes across as a deeply flawed human being, blinded by his overweening sense of ambition and destiny. The film also highlights the deep complicity of orthodox medicine in permitting Freeman (and, initially, neurosurgeon James Watts) to carry out his work without systematic oversight...