There is a scene in this movie where a Psychiatrist is being interviewed about electroconvulsive therapy, where he admits that they simply don't know why it works....but it does.
(This statement that it does work in directly contradicted in the movie by someone who experienced it and stated that actually it stopped his recovery).
The point is that the fact the practitioners openly say they don't know what it is they are doing is the single most important aspect of this movie.
Unfortunately this element is simply not explored in anywhere near enough depth.
Far more time is spent on the romantic relationship which develops with one of R D Laings fans.
Its one thing trying to make people interested in a real life person on screen by focusing on his relationships, however that is not what he is known for.
The other very important part of this movie which does not get enough time is around diagnosis, while lip service is paid to the idea that psychiatrists diagnose on the basis of "symptoms they cannot see", this aspect of mental health is also only briefly mentioned.
I feel that this was a wasted opportunity to bring up some real issues in mental health treatment that the public are unaware of and does not explore the harm which some treatments have on patients.
Due to the focus on romantic relationships, overall the film seems to drag out and nothing is really learned about the idea of R D Laing in any real depth.
Neither are the counter arguments to his ideas explored.
If you have any experience of the mental health system, you may came away from this feeling frustrated that an opportunity to expose the shortcomings of mental health treatment in the UK has been missed.
The sad part is that despite there being more years on the clock, psychiatry and mental health treatment has not really moved on. So the closing credits about the hospital experiment ending but "some" of his ideas still being around is another cop out.
There is a great film to be made about the state of mental health treatment which critiques its current failings, but this isn't it.
