Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Conspiracy Theory’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I would venture to say, that for the most part, we all lead fairly average lives. Which isn’t an insult by any means, in fact it is quite the good thing. Because it means the vast majority of us, keep our noses out of trouble and go about our daily lives with relative ease. And while the world throws a few curveballs our way and there’s plenty of good moments to celebrate, it isn’t long before we settle back into our routines and that part of our lives can have its own unintended side effects. Because sometimes we are just straight up bored with life, and we find ourselves in a brief rut that we desperately wish to escape and sometimes our brains turn to ideas and notions that help to break up the monotony and liven things up, such as conspiracy theories.

Which may seem a bit outlandish to say but think about it for a moment. Because from time to time, we find ourselves reading a headline so outlandish and out of place that we are compelled to click on it and see where it takes us and often times, we definitely go down a rabbit hole that involves forces that are working against everyday people to further their own twisted agenda. But logic and reasoning tend to pull us out of these strange tales and just like that, the more mundane parts of our day don’t look all that bad because hey, it could be worse, we could be obsessed with these strange lies. But what if some of those outlandish stories we read about were actually true and we came to discover that there is indeed a twisted scheme happening right underneath our noses? Would we be safe with this knowledge in our minds? Or would our lives change as the danger grows and oddly enough, these are questions and notions that are explored in the fascinating 1997 film, Conspiracy Theory.

Now in this particular film we are introduced to a man named Jerry Fletcher and well, he leads quite the unique life. Because Jerry tends to stick to the shadows and solitude, simply because he believes that the world is not quite what it seems. In fact, Jerry is convinced that there are nefarious forces working behind the scenes to control our world and our lives and he works to help others understand this dark truth by publishing a newsletter full of these ‘facts’ in his spare time between driving a cab and obsessing over a lawyer at the Justice Department named Alice Sutton, and that’s really how his life goes. But one day, during a routine investigation for his newsletter, Jerry is kidnapped and comes to learn that his theories are indeed fact, and that there are evil men working to do equally evil things, and they also expect him to join their cause and now it will be up to him and Alice to stop these men before they are successful in their twisted machinations. 

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I suppose the best label to apply to this motion picture, is to call it a guilty pleasure. Because truly, everything that’s featured here is about as outlandish as it gets. I mean come on, dark forces working in the shadows, Manchurian Candidate brainwashing, it’s all out there but it all works in this film for several reasons. First and foremost, the movie treats the subject matter in the same manner as of the rest of us do early on, with skepticism. But once the evil Dr. Jonas arrives, things change just like that, and now you’re vested in everything that Jerry believes in and you want to see how this strange mystery is going to unfold and well, it definitely surprises in magnificent fashion by offering up some dangerous moments and twists and turns galore. But more importantly, you quickly find yourself rooting for Jerry since you’d like to see him vindicated since so many see him as well, crazy.
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In fact, Jerry is what truly makes this film special because his journey more or less becomes a powerful exploration of mental illness. Because Jerry’s time with Dr. Jonas damaged his mind badly and you see a myriad of issues take shape over the course of the motion picture since PTSD, OCD and paranoia and severe anxiety are put on display here and well, how this is presented is what makes this part of the film so powerful. Because at no point is Jerry ever presented as malicious or evil because of his affliction, he’s just a man trying desperately to get by in the world and find some peace from the issues that surround him, and I appreciate the fact that this movie doesn’t try to paint mental illness as anything negative and that it humanizes it by showing us the precarious balance that Jerry tries to find in his life. And that portrayal serves to remind us that perhaps the folks we encounter like Jerry deserve a little more kindness since they’re not ‘kooks’, they’re human beings in need of direction and help, and offering them that, might give them a reason to abandon stories of nonexistent evil doers.

But all of that aside, this really is an intriguing film, one that does a fine job of answering ‘what if?’ and one that works in large part thanks to its cast. Because Julia Roberts’ performance as Alice Sutton serves as the anchor for this film since her skeptic nature keeps the audience grounded and she is surrounded by some powerfully polarizing performances from Patrick Stewart and Mel Gibson. For their turns as Dr. Jonas and Jerry respectively, in many ways represent the ongoing battle of good versus evil and both men draw you in with their dynamic and powerful work on screen. Either way, this movie is a great way to kill a couple of hours and get lost within a fascinating tale and if by chance you haven’t seen this one, I highly recommend it. Because it really is a lot of fun and it genuinely sucks you in and feeds that part of your brain that needs a little stimulation now and again. 

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