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source: The Mind of Mr. Soames

Trailer—The Mind of Mr. Soames

The Mind of Mr. Soames

A thirty year old man (Stamp) 'asleep' since birth is awoken by surgeon Vaughn. He is a child and must be taught by gruff doctor, Davenport. He rebels and eventually escapes from his institution. Clearly a serious attempt to create a science lead drama, it is only partially successful. Vaughn and Stamp are both very good with Stamp pulling out the acting stops as the 'young boy'. It is though a drama that you expect to turn into something else - a thriller? - and it never does. It is ultimately quite poignant and well handled and acted, but lacks any sense of passion and urgency.

A 30 year old man, John Soames, has been in a coma since birth but a doctor is going to perform pioneering brain surgery in order to awaken him, with everything being filmed for TV. Once conscious Soames, the man-child, undergoes intensive schooling, which does not always go smoothly. Amicus were known for their horror movies, in particular anthologies, which they excelled at, so this science-fiction/drama for me was of interest. Sadly I was hoping that there would be horror elements but there aren't, apart from being unsettling at times. Good, engaging movie, perhaps a little slow at times, but great cast & filming locations. It also gives a glimpse into 1970 England, when smoking was sociable, doctors had bottles of hard liquor in their offices and there are many old vehicles, now all classed as classics, to be seen. I felt sorry for Mr Soames, his plight was very sad at times, quite a moving tale but it is no classic.

Starts off quite intriguingly with a reasonably novel premise about a man having been in a coma since birth but grown up nevertheless. Once they bring him out of the coma is when the fun begins.He gets free wearing what looks like a pink bunny suit.You would think that everyone would notice particularly when he goes into a pub and pinches a sandwich.Eventually he is caught and we'll that's it.

Robert Vaughn and Terence Stamp are two of my all-time favorite actors, and they never give disappointing performances. However, even their prodigious talents couldn't save this film. The film descends into hackneyed clichés and ultimately disappoints. It wound up being a cross between "Charly" and "Frankenstein." I should add that it was great seeing Judy Parfitt (currently one of the nuns on "Call The Midwife" on the PBS series) in her much-younger days, and Nigel Davenport, an under-appreciated actor who should have been given more leading roles during his long career, imho. In summary, I think it's worthwhile to see this film once, if only for the great cast.

I haven't seen it in awhile and can't find the Charles Eric Maine novel it was based on. It's been out-of-print forever. Another novel by Mr. Maine is available..."Alph"...But I do remember how the movie ends and I don't think every film needs to end on a final note. Let your imagination create an ending for Mr. Soames. Does Dr. Bergen (Robert Vaughn) continue with him, in which case he might thrive after the negative note the film ends on or does Dr. Maitland continue screwing him up using him as a human guinea pig? Does he lapse back into a coma or some other vegetative state or commit suicide? To leave a final ending up to ones imagination is part of what makes the sad but incomplete ending of the film wonderful. If I could read the book I could compare but... Thanks to a private seller in the UK via Amazon I'm finally reading the book. Thus far it was a good idea to create Dr. Bergen instead of the Japanese Dr. Takaito who perform the surgery that wakes up Mr. Soames.

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary,this movie is worth watching. It tells a deeply moving story of a man who has awakened from a coma that he has been in since birth and has 30 years of catching up to do. Terence Stamp plays the lead and is well suited to the part. He is a fine actor who has not recei ved enough accolades.