Coma

Coma (1978)
Director: Michael Critchton
Cast: Genvieve Bujold, Michael Douglass, Richard Widmark, Rip Torn
Memorable Line(s): "When you're older, everything is complicated. There is no black and white, only gray."

A youthful and somewhat naive doctor stumbles upon something strange and disturbing happening to patients in her hospital. What will she do? Well, that's the stuff of medical thrillers are made of.

Dr. Susan Wheeler (Bujold), a young and conscientious doctor, is disturbed when she finds out that 12 patients who underwent minor surgeries have fallen into the comas. Her alarm rises when her best friend suffers the same fate. This alarm escalates significantly when she discovers a tenuous link between the patients. As she digs deeper, her physician boyfriend (Douglas) and a hospital administrator (Widmark) try to persuade her that there's no conspiracy. She is not deterred and that's when she falls into real danger.

Why I found the movie intriguing and even memorable from watching when it was originally released, I found upon viewing it again that it doesn't hold up as well against the test of time. While the concept is inherently fraught with tension, it's the execution that leaves something to be desires. Some of the scenes come across listless and without real suspense. The acting is good across the board, but this movie lacks the energy that could have been generated by the plot.

While not a waste of time to see, I can't recommend going out of your way to view Coma.