Harvard Psychology
Genre: Drama/Biography
Director: Mark Romanek
Writer: Lon Charles
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Fionn Whitehead, Sydney Chandler, Carla Gugino, Charlie Plummer, Anthony LaPaglia, Lili Taylor, Julian Hilliard, Christian Slater, H. Jon Benjamin, David Duchovny, Devin Druid
Plot: 1959. Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Henry Murray (Robert Downey Jr.), famed psychologist, holds court over a dinner party filled with other Harvard University academics. He tells the others that he has a new study coming up that he believes will help map the mind's response to extreme stress. He holds a drink up for a toast, proclaiming that he is Captain Ahab and the mind is his great white whale. Everybody drinks. Murray looks over at his wife Christiana (Carla Gugino) and notices that her mood has soured and she has clearly had too much to drink. He tries to suggest they leave the party, but she refuses and quickly downs another drink. Murray quietly asks that she not make another drunken scene. Murray stands back up and toasts the group to the upcoming academic year before taking his wife by the arm and guiding her out of the party.
The Kaczynski family drives east along a Rust Belt highway. Father Turk (Anthony LaPaglia) drives, mother Wanda (Lili Taylor) sits in the passenger seat, with their sons Ted (Fionn Whitehead) and David (Julian Hilliard) in the back seat. They are driving east from their Illinois home toward Harvard where young Ted has been given a scholarship to attend. David makes fun of Ted for being a nerd in the back seat and Ted hits him in the arm in retaliation. Turk tells his sons to knock it off - the drive is long enough without any roughhousing. Later that night on the drive, Wanda and David have both fallen asleep. Turk notices that Ted is still awake and tells him that many people back home think that Ted is too young and immature to be going off to school at Harvard. Ted listens without responding. Turk gets a little angry and tells Ted to prove them all wrong and use his genius mind to succeed and be remembered for all time. Ted nods his head. Wanda then briefly wakes up and asks if Turk wants her to take over driving for a bit. Turk declines, stating he's making good time. Wanda then drifts back off to sleep.
Ted's family helps him move his stuff into his dorm room at 8 Prescott Street on Harvard's campus - a dorm specifically designed to accommodate the youngest incoming students at the university. Once his belongings are moved in, the rest of the family promptly leaves to beat traffic back toward Illinois. Ted checks in with the student counseling office for his class schedule. There he is informed that as part of his scholarship he is required to participate in at least one on-campus study per semester. Ted looks through the list of studies to sign up for, but most of the slots have already been filled. He finally finds an empty spot for a study titled “Multiform Assessments of Personality Development Among Gifted College Men” and signs up for it.
Henry Murray meets in his office with CIA Agent Ben Donovan (David Duchovny). Donovan asks Murray if he has any useful studies coming up. Murray talks a little bit about his upcoming study on stress. Donovan then gives Murray a list of things his superiors in Langley would like Murray to use his study to look into. Murray looks over the list, questioning the extreme nature of some of the things listed - including testing subjects’ ability to withstand intense interrogation and methods for breaking the willpower of enemy agents. Donovan tells Murray that if wants the federal funding to keep streaming in, he needs to continue playing ball like he did during the war. Murray begrudgingly agrees to modify his plans to shoehorn in some of the specifics the agency requests.
Henry Murray holds an introduction session to the study, which the 22 male students who signed up attend. Before the session begins, Ted briefly chats with Douglas Cringle (Charlie Plummer), who tells him that he's only doing the study to make up for a class he skipped out on the previous semester to go to Europe with his girlfriend's family. Ted tries to act unimpressed, but Cringle sees right through it, quickly recognizing Ted as a scholarship kid. Murray is introduced to the group by one of his teaching assistants, Sally Young (Sydney Chandler). Murray then enters the lecture room and gives the group their first assignment as part of the study. They all need to write a detailed essay that summarizes their worldview and personal philosophy. While Cringle easily writes his essay, Ted - as a mathematics major - struggles to put his thoughts into words. Participants are soon called into another room one by one to meet with them and discuss their essays. As Ted waits his turn, Cringle is called in before him. Ted sees Cringle leave the room, clearly upset. Ted tries to ask him about it, but Cringle brushes past him. Ted is then called in to see Murray.
In the interview room, Murray sits across a long table from Ted. Murray introduces a colleague of his (H. Jon Benjamin) as a university lawyer who must be present during this stage of the study. The lawyer begins to look over Ted's essay. He then insults Ted's worldview, referring to Ted's parents as dirty Poles. He tells Ted that his father, Turk, could never really provide for his family making Polish sausages and needs Ted's education to finance the family. After several minutes of Ted receiving every insult and personal attack the lawyer can hurl, Ted is clearly about to cry. Murray then stops the interview and asks Ted if he has any questions. Ted wipes away a tear and then asks if the man is really a lawyer. Murray seems intrigued by this response and writes some notes down. Murray then thanks Ted for his time and says that his teaching assistant Sally will be in touch with him regarding the next stage of the study.
The next day Ted takes a test in a mathematics class, which results in the lowest grade of his young life: C-. He calls his family back in Illinois. His younger brother David answers the phone before giving the phone over to their mother Wanda. She asks him how he is doing. Ted admits that he feels like he is struggling so far away from home. Wanda asks Ted if he wants to leave Harvard and go to school somewhere closer to home like Northwestern. Turk grabs the phone away from his wife. He tells Ted that he is just going to have to toughen up and get the job done at Harvard. Turk then hangs up the phone. Ted goes back to his dormitory. One of the other residents of the building, Gerald Burns (Devin Druid), asks Ted if he wants to go play basketball with him. Ted declines, stating he needs time to think.
Timothy Leary (Christian Slater) returns to Harvard after years studying the effects of psychedelic drugs in Central America. He has lunch with Henry Murray where Murray describes his latest experiment. Leary asks if Murray is still working on some of the old MKUltra stuff for “the company”. Murray says he can neither confirm nor deny Leary’s inquiry. Leary laughs and suggests that if Murray wants honest answers and responses from the subjects in his experiment, he should dose them with LSD which his own studies have shown can be used as an effective sort of truth serum.
Ted is having a dream about Sally. In the dream, she begins undressing in front of him. The dream then turns sour as a naked Sally begins berating Ted, hurling the same insults that Murray’s “lawyer” previously said. Ted wakes up in a sweat. Unable to fall back asleep, Ted goes for a walk around Harvard's campus until the sun goes up. When he gets back to his building he finds Sally waiting outside for him. She tells him that Dr. Murray sent her to escort him to the next stage of the study. Ted tells her that he isn't so sure he wants to continue to take part. Sally tells Ted that she knows he is a scholarship student and has to take part in a study to keep his financial aid. She warns him that backing out of a study that he's already agreed to could affect his status with the university. Ted reluctantly follows Sally to the non-descript psychological studies building known as The Annex. Sally leads Ted down to a room in the basement. Ted is strapped into a chair while a series of electrodes are hooked up to his body. Ted begins to breathe heavily when he notices a large one-way mirror across from him. Sally places her hand on his shoulder, telling him that he needs to calm down. Ted blushes from the feminine contact and steadies his breathing. Sally leaves the room. A blinding spotlight shines on Ted as Murray's voice comes into the room from the other side of the one-way mirror. Murray tells Ted that he's going to be asked a series of questions with the electrodes on him to help determine whether he's telling the truth or not. Murray asks Ted a series of simple, innocuous questions to start, which Ted answers correctly. Murray then asks Ted if he has fantasized sexually about Sally. Ted nervously says no. Murray can see on his monitor that Ted is lying and gives Ted a jolt of electricity. Ted becomes angry at not being told about being shocked. Murray asks Ted the same question. Ted once again denies it and is shocked by Murray. Ted denies it several times, with Murray shocking him every time. The spotlight turns off and Sally enters to release a crying Ted. Once he's let out of the chair, Ted runs out of the building.
Murray watches the video of Ted’s reactions with a projector in his office late at night. Sally enters the office and sees the footage of Ted denying a sexual interest in Sally repeatedly. Murray turns off the film and turns toward Sally. He tells her that if he said what Ted said, he’d be lying too. Sally gets down on her knees and unzips Murray’s pants. Murray leans back and closes his eyes as Sally gives him a blowjob. Eventually, Murray opens his eyes and notices the time. Once Sally is done, Murray quickly stands up, fastens his pants and leaves his office, leaving Sally still on her knees.
Christiana waits for Murray in a negligee with a bottle of wine. She looks at the clock and sees that Murray is once again late coming home. She becomes upset and begins drinking the bottle of wine. By the time Murray finally makes it home, Christiana has finished the bottle and become highly agitated. She asks Murray where he was, and Murray insists he was going over footage of his latest batch of test subjects and simply lost track of time. Christiana throws the empty wine bottle at Murray, which he barely manages to evade.
Ted runs into Cringle on campus. In an effort to be social, Ted asks Cringle if he’s still part of Murray’s study. Cringle laughs at Ted, saying he’d have to be a complete idiot to take that kind of abuse from anyone. He decided to just take the failing grade on his psychology class from last term instead. Cringle can tell by Ted’s expression that he is still part of Murray’s study. Cringle wishes Ted luck and runs off to talk to some friends he spots. Ted, feeling even worse about his situation, goes back to his building. All of the other students are in their rooms with the door closed. Ted decides to do the same.
Murray is in his office when he is paid a visit by Leary. Leary lounges on a couch in Murray’s office, taking his shoes off. Murray asks what he owes the visit to, and Leary pulls out a bottle of liquid LSD. Leary hints that the supplies came from a mutual friend with “The Agency”. Murray smiles and takes a look at the bottle before joking that it looks a little light. Leary laughs, saying he may have taken some himself, strictly for medicinal purposes of course. Leary tosses the bottle to Murray, telling him that their friend said it is for his study.
For the next stage of the study, Ted nervously arrives in the same room with the one-way mirror. This time, the chair and the electrodes are gone, replaced by a simple table and chair. On the other side of the one-way mirror, Murray puts a few drops of the LSD into a glass of water. He then tells Sally to take the water to Ted. After Sally places the glass in front of Ted, Murray tells Ted to drink the water. Ted does as instructed. Ted soon begins to feel strange and dizzy. He asks what was in the water. Murray tells Ted not to worry about the water, but that they are going to try to answer the same questions as last time. Murray starts with the same innocent questions as last time, which Ted struggles to answer this time around as he feels the room spinning around him. Murray says those questions aren’t important. He then asks Ted once again if he has ever sexually fantasized about Sally. Ted breathes heavily and admits to his dream about Sally. Sally, overhearing the interview, begins to feel uncomfortable and leaves The Annex. Murray presses Ted to describe what he would like to do to Sally. Ted gets up and begins pacing the small room. Murray asks Ted if he would like Sally to perform oral sex on him. Ted becomes more agitated, yelling that he wants to leave now. Murray tells Ted that the door is not locked. Ted opens the door. He runs down the hall and out of the building. His senses are assaulted by the noises and light outside. He recklessly runs down the sidewalk to his building. In tears, he calls his parents. Wanda answers the phone. Crying, Ted asks to come home. Turk overhears the conversation and forces Wanda to hang up the phone.
Sally watches the film of the latest interview Murray had with Ted. She confronts Murray, demanding to know the real point of the study. Murray tries to claim that it has always been about assessing stress reactions of the mind. Sally tells Murray that she used to believe that, but with each stage of the study it seems to drift further away from that, now seeming like nothing but an unethical exercise in cruelty. Sally then demands to know what was in the water that was given to Ted. Murray tries to downplay it, but ultimately reveals that he dosed the water with highly concentrated LSD to see if Ted could still maintain his lies while under its effects. Sally tells Murray that she is done being his assistant as she wants no part in his work any more.
Ted sits nervously in his physics class, struggling to pay attention as the sounds of the technology all around him have become a distraction. After class, he cautiously walks back to his dormitory building, periodically stopping to make sure that nobody is following him. Sally pays him a visit at his building, finding him in his room, reading Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent. Sally asks if it is a spy story like the James Bond books. Ted replies that the story is about bomb-wielding anarchists who declare war on science and technology. Ted tells Sally that he has begun to realize that technology and science are destroying the natural way of life, so he finds Conrad's story relatable in that way. Sally closes the book in Ted’s hand. Ted keeps his head toward the floor. Sally asks Ted to look at her. Once his eyes are looking at her, Sally tells Ted that she is sorry about how Dr. Murray treated Ted and that she never knew he would take anything that far. Ted isn’t sure how to respond. Sally gives Ted a kiss on the cheek before leaving his room. Ted sits in silence, holding his hand to his face where Sally had kissed.
Murray finds Agent Donovan waiting for him in his office. Donovan asks him how the study went. Murray, for the first time, does not want to talk about his work. Murray hands him a folder of his data. Donovan says that he will see him another time, but Murray makes it clear that he no longer wants anything to do with “The Agency” or their MKUltra work. Donovan nods his head, taking the folder with him.
- Those closest to him say that Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski was never the same after his time at Harvard. After several years as a mathematics professor at University of Michigan and University of California, Berkeley, Ted retreated from normal life and moved to the Montana wilderness. Over an 18 year long period, Ted mailed or delivered at least 16 bombs. Known as the "Unabomber", he killed three people and injured sixteen others with his devices before being captured. He committed suicide after over 26 years in a supermax prison.
- Dr. Henry Murray is still considered an important researcher in the field of psychology. After Murray's death, his work drew negative scrutiny in the aftermath of the Unabomer case and the impact it may have had on young Ted Maczynski.
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