Michael Crichton’s previous directorial work, “Westworld” (1973), is more famous, because it’s a more original idea. But his followup, “Coma” (1978), is a more engrossing film. Crichton quickly turns Robin Cook’s 1977 novel into a confidently crafted medical mystery with a sci-fi twist that’s drenched in conspiracy-noir trappings.
Blending his knowledge
Crichton left a medical career behind to become a professional storyteller, but his schooling serves him well in “Coma’s” portrayal of hospital procedure and office politics. While Crichton’s own novel “A Case of Need” was made into a film, he wasn’t involved in making it. But “Coma” touches a lot of “A Case of Need’s” bases.
In an intriguing switch, though, the doctor who probes the mystery of the high number of comas after routine surgeries isn’t any of the men in the movie, among them Michael Douglas, Richard Widmark, Rip Torn, Ed Harris and Tom Selleck.
“Coma” (1978)
Director: Michael Crichton
Writers: Michael Crichton (screenplay), Robin Cook (novel)
Stars: Geneviève Bujold, Michael Douglas, Rip Torn
Rather, it’s a woman, Dr. Susan Wheeler. Geneviève Bujold gives Susan a mix of soft beauty and a hard, determined edge to seek answers and justice. Bujold is enthralling, with seemingly little effort.
After controversially having four men investigate “The Andromeda Strain,” Crichton soon put women in prime roles. He showed some interest in the female perspective in “The Terminal Man.” But in “Coma” he goes all in, starting with insightful domestic scenes between Susan and her boyfriend, Dr. Mark Bellows (Douglas). (Granted, Crichton is working from Cook’s novel.)
Mark tells Susan about his day but doesn’t have much of an ear for hearing about hers. He wants to take a shower and asks that she grab him a beer. She jumps in the shower first and tells him he can get his own beer. Susan is asking to be treated equally, but Mark is baffled; he thinks she wants “a wife, not a lover.”
A great heroine
Although Mark can be given some leeway for having old-fashioned expectations in 1978, Crichton clearly sympathizes with Susan. We do too. Part of it is because bad things happen – her best friend, the one person who understands her, doesn’t come out of anesthesia after a routine abortion.
Even without the personal tragedy, Susan is a great heroine to lead us through the ensuing questions, obfuscation and retaliation. “Coma’s” investigation reminds me of “Spotlight” – also set in Boston, albeit a true story in that case. Except that Susan seems to lack allies.
“Coma” clinches its classic status with a shocking sci-fi twist where we learn the conspiracy’s aims. A gorgeously chilling room (despite the fact that it’s kept at 96 degrees) finds comatose patients hanging from wires.
This image perhaps influenced “The X-Files,” which drew heavily from 1970s noir. And the marketers slapped it right on the posters.
“Coma” entirely holds up when viewed today. Doctors still wield enough power in society to plausibly pull off something like this. Crichton’s point about the blind trust we put in doctors remains relevant.
Thrilling pursuits
The pursuit sequence in a large semi-secret facility is thrilling, reminding me of the cat-and-mouse game on the Death Star in “Star Wars,” with tinny updates over the intercom. Later, Crichton would again show a woman with middling power crawling among catwalks and through ducts to uncover her own corporation’s secrets in “Airframe.”
Unlike “Westworld,” “Coma” is not a cold sci-fi movie – even though it incorporates that vibe into the final act. And even though the Susan-Mark relationship is troubled. But if it’s not always warm, they want it to be. Crichton never directed better performances.
Crichton uses medical and conspiracy conventions rather than inventing something new. But he can be forgiven this once. “Coma” is a masterful thriller, with grand production value for the price.