‘Based on a true story’
MK Ultra is a 2022 American psychological thriller film about the CIA’s notorious use of mind control drug experiments in the early 1960s.
The movie was written and directed by Joseph Sorrentino (The Sacrament of Life; Coyote). It was produced by Lee Broda, Brian Mercer, Andreas Schilling, Joseph Sorrentino, Jerry Tankersley, and Seth Willenson.
The movie stars Anson Mount, Jaime Ray Newman, Jason Patric, Alon Aboutboul, Jen Richards, Charles Green, Jared Bankens, Wanetah Walmsley, David Jensen, Matt Nolan, Susan McPhail, Harrison Stone, Robert Aberdeen, Cotton Yancey, Jill Renner and Josh Whites.
Plot:
Set during the true and unconscionable Central Intelligence Agency MK-Ultra drug experimentations in the early 1960s, the film follows the journey of Ford Strauss (Anson Mount), a brilliant psychiatrist, whose moral and scientific boundaries are pushed to the limit as he is recruited to run a subsect of the program in a rural Mississippi Mental Hospital…
Our review:
Writer-director Joseph Sorrentino’s moody docu-psychodrama (a “thriller” probably by technicality) is based on the fact that the CIA, under a code-name operation “MK Ultra,” tested powerful narcotics, including LSD and other mind-control pharmaceuticals and behavioural conditioning, on military and civilians in the early 1960s. Yes, this comes out “Based on a true story,” a low-level come-on affixed to many a Hollywood potboiler (“Amityville MK-Ultra,” anyone?).
But Sorrentino takes a sober, fairly down-to-earth approach. That may disappoint conspiracy-minded audiences, who media have conditioned, “The X Files” and movies like Conspiracy Theory to connect MK-Ultra to everything from the JFK assassination to the Manson Family murders to space-alien UFOs. Sorrentino never stoops to that.
The setting is a rural mental hospital in unappealing-looking Mississippi, where Doctor Ford Strauss (Anson Mount) is troubled by casual lobotomies and other clinic routines that violate Hippocratic oaths. He earns a promotion to head the department via a Mephistophelian agreement to be part of the MK-Ultra research under a supercilious government agent named Gavin Morgan (Jason Patric).
Viewers already know that despite his stark Men-in-Black suit, thick-rim glasses and tie (wardrobe for practically the whole government crew), Morgan pursues illicit sex and drug vices in his hidden HQ, a defunct cinema. Not much of which seems connected to “national security” or winning the Cold War raging throughout the world, the supposed rationale for MK-Ultra.
Strauss finds himself giving doses of LSD and worse to a handpicked assortment of inmates, including a serial slaughterer of animals (thus disowned by his farmer father, who has lost livestock), a transsexual, a black schizophrenic and a young female arsonist. Under tight supervision by mobster-like CIA, his records and patients disappearing and signs of abuse, Strauss finds himself in a suffocating, Kafkaesque nightmare of self-loathing and morose paranoia.
Punctuating the ominous, dramatized build-up are inserts of network news broadcasts and 
Congressional hearings into MK-Ultra and its murky excesses – covered up with skill; nobody ever conclusively tallied full guilt and damage done.
In another vintage clip, counter-culture icon Timothy Leary joyfully credits MK-Ultra with helping turn on the Woodstock-generation American culture to mind-bending drugs. Leary seems to be the only upbeat person in the entire feature.
Charles Cassady Jr, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“It’s a little slow in terms of pacing at times but the finale is suitably satisfying and bloody making for essential viewing. Overall, MK Ultra is a fascinating tale of a government organization going too far and is dark, disturbing and gripping…” The Movie Elite
“MK Ultra isn’t a complex composition, but it is definitely a delightful experiment in sight and sound. It is a sophisticated little film that starts slow, but ramps up to its loud and deadly conclusion. Definitely a fun watch for those who are intrigued with the era, especially with the culture and corruption that controlled it. Watch it if you want a slow trip that has a gratifying conclusion.” Movie Jawn
“Highly stylized and set in a moody mid-century dreamscape, the filmmakers tell an intriguing story that raises questions of medical ethics, informed consent, and the responsibility of a government to its citizens. Notably, the film weaves fascinating facts about the program into the darkly compelling narrative through a series of voiceover explainers that may have felt choppy or disjointed with a less skilled hand.” Reel News Daily
“MK Ultra delivers on multiple fronts. The film is to the point and does not worry about historical accuracies, focused on making an entertaining product instead. The performances are understated but brimming with talent; the actors leave no stone unturned. As a director, Sorrentino knows what he wants onscreen and gets it there.” 3.5/5, Screen Rant
” …the victims of the experiments are drifting down into darkness but at the same time the experimenters are too, with their trek for an answer sending them down and an intellectual track that is going to bite them on the ass. It’s a trip that will rock you, which is what this film is all about. Do yourself a favor and buy a tab and take a ride.” Unseen Films
Trailer:
Release:
In the US, MK Ultra was released by Cinedigm theatrically in select locations and on VOD on October 7, 2022.
Original title:
Midnight Climax
