| Wormwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Docudrama Psychologicaldrama |
| Directed by | Errol Morris |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Paul Leonard-Morgan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Running time | 40-48 minutes |
| Production companies | Fourth Floor Productions Moxie Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 15 December 2017 (2017-12-15) |
Wormwood (styled as 'WORMWO0D') is a 2017 American six-partdocudramaminiseries directed byErrol Morris[1] and released onNetflix on December 15, 2017.[2] The series is based on the life of a scientist,Frank Olson, who worked for a secret governmentbiological warfare program (the USBWL) atFort Detrick, Maryland. It focuses on the events leading up to and following his controversial death, which the US government originally claimed was a tragic accident, but later admitted was likely a suicide, caused by a mental breakdown brought on after being unknowingly dosed withLSD, while at a meeting with colleagues from theCIA who were involved inProject MKUltra. It also follows Frank Olson's son in the present day, and discusses his belief that his father may have been murdered due to being perceived as a potential security risk. Interspersed between interviews and archival footage, are live action reenactments of the final days of Frank Olson's life and the various theories involving his death.
Wormwood is told through Eric Olson, the son ofFrank Olson, an Americanbiological warfare scientist andCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, who died under mysterious circumstances in 1953.
Nine days after Olson was covertly dosed withLSD by CIA'sSidney Gottlieb, head ofProject MKUltra, he plunged to his death from the window of a hotel room in New York City. His death was initially regarded as a suicide, but subsequent investigations have raised questions of a coverup of an alleged murder.[3][4]
The titleWormwood is a double literary allusion: first to theBible verse about a star that infects one-third of Earth's waters and makes them bitter and poisonous, a reference to biological weapons (in particular,allegations of American biological warfare in the Korean War), and the 'bitter' effect on Eric Olson of his 60-year search for a resolution regarding the death of his father;[5] secondly, to a line in Shakespeare'sHamlet (whose story arc the documentary suggests parallels Eric's own life), when Hamlet whispers, "Wormwood, Wormwood", at the moment itsplay-within-a-play implies evidentially that his father was, in fact, assassinated.[6] The documentary ends with Eric Olson describing the quest for the truth about his father's death as "Wormwood", having consumed his whole life and with no possibility that any closure, positive or negative, would have released him from the bitterness of the loss anyway. Director Errol Morris said that "WhatWormwood tries to do is tell a story about how we know what we know and how reliable is that knowledge."[7]
A key piece of evidence the film relies on is a CIA assassination manual from 1953, which instructs agents, "The most efficient accident, in simple assassination, is a fall of 75 feet or more onto a hard surface."[8]
In order to be eligible for theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the90th Academy Awards, the series was recut into a continuous feature after theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) ruled that multi-part documentary series (such as2017 winnerO.J.: Made in America) were ineligible.[11] However, the series was rejected from consideration by AMPAS for the documentary feature category, although it remains eligible in all other categories.[11]
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chapter 1: Suicide Revealed" | Errol Morris | Kieran Fitzgerald and Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
In 1953, Army scientist Frank Olson takes a fatal plunge from a hotel window. In 1975, a bombshell report ties his death to a top-secret experiment. | |||||
| 2 | "Chapter 2: A Terrible Mistake" | Errol Morris | Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz and Kieran Fitzgerald | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
Amid a wave of media attention, the government races to placate the family. In New York, Frank visits a doctor known for his unconventional methods. | |||||
| 3 | "Chapter 3: The Forbidden Threshold" | Errol Morris | Story by : Kieran Fitzgerald and Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz Teleplay by : Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
One trip to New York morphs into two when Frank suffers a setback on the way home. Decades later, an apprehensive Eric checks into room 1018A. | |||||
| 4 | "Chapter 4: Opening the Lid" | Errol Morris | Story by : Kieran Fitzgerald and Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz Teleplay by : Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
A hotel worker overhears a curious phone call the night of Frank's death. In 1994, a forensics expert exhumes the body to find compelling new clues. | |||||
| 5 | "Chapter 5: Honorable Men" | Errol Morris | Story by : Kieran Fitzgerald Teleplay by : Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz and Kieran Fitzgerald | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
Frank's growing concerns about Cold War activities raise alarm bells at the CIA. A frustrated Eric launches a last-ditch bid for closure. | |||||
| 6 | "Chapter 6: Remember Me" | Errol Morris | Story by : Kieran Fitzgerald Teleplay by : Steven Hathaway & Molly Rokosz and Kieran Fitzgerald | December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15) | |
Thanks toSeymour Hersh, Eric finally learns the truth—but at a maddening cost. In room 1018A, Frank faces off with two mysterious men. | |||||
The series was first screened at the74th Venice International Film Festival andTelluride Film Festival in September 2017.[12]
The New York Times awarded it a NYT Critic's Pick with reviewerA. O. Scott saying "Mr. Morris presents a powerful historical argument in the guise of a beguiling work of cinematic art — and vice versa."[5]Matt Zoller Seitz, writing forVulture.com, "The filmmaking gathers all the bits and pieces of the story together and arranges them in ways that are clever, surprising, and so aggressively (and deliberately) self-conscious that there are times when the whole thing gets close to turning into an intellectualized formal exercise...there’s never a moment where Olson or Morris fail to fascinate."[13]Vanity Fair called it "one of the most original things you’ll see all year."[14]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 90% based on 52 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10.[15]
