Deep Cult #3

Charly (1968) - dir. Ralph Nelson


Flowers for Algernon is a classic of science-fiction literature. Written originally as a short story by Daniel Keyes, he subsequently expanded it into a novel. The story concerns Charlie Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68, who volunteers for a medical experiment designed to increase intelligence. The experiment has already proved successful on the laboratory mouse, Algernon. The experiment works for Charlie too, who continues the work already done by the scientists, but then he discovers a flaw in the experiment and notices that Algernon is starting to behave erratically...
The novel is a heartbreaking work that I read in one sitting, literally unable to put it down. Presented as a series of personal reports from Charlie, the style of the writing changing as his intelligence changes, a brilliantly effective conceit.
Flowers for Algernon has been adapted in various media, the most famous being the film Charly for which Cliff Robertson won the Best Actor Academy Award. This is a real cult curio, very much of its time, but effective in getting across the themes of the book. The only real issue that I had with the film was the hilarious montage when Charlie rebels in quite possibly the most sixties, flower-power way imaginable. A sequence that sticks out like a sore thumb in an otherwise engrossing film.

Charly is currently unavailable on Region 2 DVD but can be found on YouTube.