Review of Charly

It's been too long since I read "Flowers for Algernon" to draw a comparison with "Charly', although other reviewers on this board state that the film doesn't do Daniel Keyes' novel justice. I'm willing to go along with that, as there were a handful of scenes that didn't lend themselves to the continuity of Charly Gordon's (Cliff Robertson) transition from a mentally challenged adult to questionable genius level. I had two main problems with the story line, the first being the physical attack against Alice (Claire Bloom), which some would no doubt consider a sexual assault. That episode certainly didn't reconcile itself to the romantic relationship that eventually evolved between them. The other aspect that fostered concern was the destructive behavior Charly engaged in following that initial rejection. That seemed credible enough on the face it, but that entire biker period sequence seemed just so unnecessary. It didn't really fit into the picture at all.

Even if the story is fictional, what's instructive is how far science and medicine has come during the last half century in the approach to and treatment of mental illness. Having family members who are afflicted adds additional resonance to certain aspects of the story here. What really caught my attention and brought home the fact that this film was made fifty years ago (as I write this), was when the 'genius' Charly stated to Alice Kinnian - "You know what's going to happen in the year 2018?". All I could think of was that I would finally get around to watching this picture for the very first time!