Michael Travis (Malcolm McDowell) is a coffee salesman trainee who is put into a prominent position after the previous salesman in the Northeast runs off. He finds a corrupt system in decline. He gets lost driving in the North. He runs across a military installation and gets tortured for a confession. He escapes when fire breaks out. Then he gets involved with medical experiments by Dr. Millar. He escapes and lives with Patricia (Helen Mirren) in London.
This is dated. The surrealism is interesting for the first half hour. I get the general rant against the world. However the movie loses tension as each weird thing seems to randomly occur. I lose interest in the narrative. It's a fascinating bit of 70's British film. They are obviously throwing the traditional playbook out the window and trying something different. In addition to McDowell, it's fascinating to see Helen Mirren in her 20s.
This is dated. The surrealism is interesting for the first half hour. I get the general rant against the world. However the movie loses tension as each weird thing seems to randomly occur. I lose interest in the narrative. It's a fascinating bit of 70's British film. They are obviously throwing the traditional playbook out the window and trying something different. In addition to McDowell, it's fascinating to see Helen Mirren in her 20s.