Nerdly » ‘MK Ultra’ VOD Review

28th Sep2023

‘MK Ultra’ VOD Review

by Kevin Haldon

Stars: Anson Mount, Jason Patric, Jaime Ray Newman, Jen Richards, Alon Aboutboul, Jared Bankens, David Jensen, Matt Nolan, Harrison Stone | Written and Directed by Joseph Sorrentino

I’ve always been interested and super curious about the whole MK Ultra CIA Human Experiment story and have often found myself reading articles, listening to podcasts or watching the odd rare documentary diving into what is and is not known about the highly illegal but absolutely fascinating events. So a dramatisation of one man’s involvement was sure to get my juices flowing.

There was also an added interesting factor to MK Ultra with the director being from an intelligence background. This may not make much difference in terms of a factual nature (although it couldn’t hurt) but you have to imagine it would make a difference in terms of aesthetic and the procedural nature of the story as we take an all too real, uncomfortable and unflinching look at the darker side of the CIA and their behaviour in the 60s.

Dr. Ford Strauss (Anson Mount) is looking to get medical LSD testing approved so he can work with his patients in the asylum but the funding isn’t forthcoming as there are just too many unknowns, however just when all hope seems to be lost, He is approached by CIA agent Galvin Morgan (Jason Patric) who has all the money and resources the good doctor needs and is all to keen to help, no questions asked.

As we all know though, if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Dr. Strauss eventually agrees to take the CIA’s money for his research. After choosing a drug addict, an arsonist, a transgender woman, and an animal killer. The trials begin and at first show little to no progress. Upon adjusting medicines and pushing a bit harder Dr. Strauss begins to see results and patterns begin to form meaning he is able to bring forward a hypothesis. He is soon reminded by a former coworker to be wary of the company he keeps.

He begins to question Agent Morgan’s interest and morality towards the trials and what this means to the integrity of his research. Asking questions may reveal answers he doesn’t want to hear or even uncover a conspiracy he may never comprehend.

As you may expect for a CIA shadow government story, MK Ultra is more about the dialogue and performances than it is about bells and whistles. With that in mind, you should go into this expecting a slow burn with a lot of back and forth. To accomplish this task and keep your audience invested, you will need a solid cast.

Anson Mount as Dr. Strauss is putting in a blinder of a role as he carries the film on his shoulders. This comes as no surprise as we know Mount is a quality performer with some real acting chops. I do feel like he maybe had a bit more to give us but with a movie like this, it’s more about those subtle subdued performances. That brings me to Jason Patric, is there a more subtle actor out there? I’ll wait… No? Correct. To be fair Patric doesn’t have a massive great deal to do here other than be there when he is needed and deliver. Which he does in spades.

There isn’t much else to dive into here other than to say that I really dug the vibe and the way MK Ultra was shot, with the odd historical archive clip giving us a little bit more insight which really adds to the noirish thriller aspect of the film. Overall it’s worth a watch and if you’re remotely interested in the shadier side of the CIA, then this is a a good watch for you.