Wormwood - Part 1 Review
This review of Part 1 of Wormwood is spoiler-free!
Well, here we are again. After seeing The Post and how that tackled government corruption, I couldn't imagine seeing something like that again so quickly. Often times I try to separate shows that follow similar themes, but Wormwood really stood out to be in the world of television. Even though I didn't really know what the series was about, I knew it focused on the idea of the CIA's MKUltra program. For those uninitiated, this was their plan to try to use mind-control to have Russian spies speak about secrets they wouldn't otherwise discuss. This originally starts with tests on citizens of the United States, resulting in some rather dark moments in the history of America. The series only evolves from that original thought, and I'm so excited to talk about it with all of you.
As mentioned at the top, Wormwood focuses on the effects of MKUltra. Told through the eyes and mind of Eric Olson, the son of Frank Olson who died under mysterious circumstances in 1953. Frank was believed to have jumped out of a window to his own death, and the CIA attempted to hide any evidence of this from the world and his family. Along with recreating the dramatic events that led up to Frank's death, the story discusses the 60-year journey Eric took to get the answers about what truly happened to his father and what the government was trying so desperately to cover up. This truth of the matter is that Wormwood isn't necessarily trying to create a compelling drama, it's about showing the truth to the world in a way we haven't really seen before. I absolutely LOVED this idea, as Wormwood manages to meld together Eric's recollection of the past and the events that have conspired, and his father's journey to his unfortunate death.
For me to discuss characters, I can only truly look into the arc in the past, as Wormwood is a mix of a drama and a documentary. Frank Olson is played by Peter Sarsgaard, and he is dealing with all kinds of issues due to his signing up for testing of LSD as a mind control technique. Sarsgaard doesn't get a lot of time to chew on his material, but he does something incredible in that he conveys fear and anxiety extremely well. The truth of the matter is that Frank has no real idea what is happening to him and he's terrified. He constantly has moments of tripping out and feels like he is losing control of his mind. It's extremely gripping and terrifying for the viewer because even though they know whats going to happen he makes you feel and hope that somehow history changes. Eric's ability as a narrator is also fascinating. He talks about his own mental psyche and how this journey he undertook to get the answers he needed has in part ruined his life. It's gripping just like the story of his father and I can't praise Errol Morris for doing so well with these two completely different but similar elements.
For Wormwood though, there's a few things that the series does even better that I simply need to discuss. Throughout the series of episodes, it manages to recap history in a way that is simply captivating. The CIA was testing mind control and hiding it from the American people for years. They take knowledge that hasn't been shown and show it to the audience for them to think about in however they choose. Eric's simple means to discussing these topics is excellent, and seeing the video of him through the years discussing his father's death makes the show that much more real and painful. Along with this, Eric discusses his own problems over this long period of time. As the journey comes to a close he discusses finding closure, and if knowing what happened to his father would actually make him happy. What he says is absolutely chilling, and how he explains that his life was ruined by the search for justice for his father really makes you upset but also happy for him. He got what he wanted but at what cost?
Overall, Wormwood is simply incredible and one of the best docu-series I have ever watched. Errol Morris does something incredible in putting together a dramatization and a documentary to tell a story and explain a history that NEEDS to be known. For those who don't understand just how dark the history of the government is, Wormwood manages to convey serious concern about them and raises questions about whether or not they necessarily did the right thing in hiding these tests from the public. Truthfully, I can't really discuss the overall impact of this show, but it left me feeling very dark and empty inside, for good reason. Wormwood is a gut punch, and it's exactly what it should have been.
