Coma (1978)

Coma was written and directed by Michael Crichton, based on a novel by his good friend Robin Cook.

Although it was a major hit critics were not overly impressed. In 1978 the idea of doctors and hospitals being involved in evil conspiracies may have seemed far-fetched. Today such an idea seems all too plausible.

Dr Susan Wheeler (Geneviève Bujold) and her boyfriend Dr Mark Bellows (Michael Douglas) are fast-rising surgeons at a major Boston Hospital. Their relationship is turbulent and this will become important later.

Susan’s best friend Nancy Greenly (Lois Chiles) is having a minor operation but something goes wrong. She doesn’t come out of the anaesthetic. She is in a coma, with no prospect of ever regaining consciousness. Soon afterwards Nancy suffers a fatal cardiac arrest.

Susan naturally takes a close look at Nancy’s case notes. It seems to have been just one of those tragic things. There is always a risk with anaesthesia. There is always the small chance that the patient will be left permanently comatose.

There is however one very minor item in the case notes that puzzles Susan.

Susan is extraordinarily stubborn. She investigates further, and discovers an odd unexpected pattern. A surprising number of young healthy patients have ended up in comas. More than one would expect.

She keeps digging. A throwaway comment by a pathologist gets her thinking. As does the curiously defensive reaction of the chief anaesthesiologist. Gradually she works things out but it’s absurd. Such things could never happen.

But she keeps finding more evidence.

Her digging into the case lands her in trouble but the kindly hospital chief Dr George Harris (Richard Widmark) assures her that he’ll do his best to protect her job.

I like the fact that while Susan is definitely the heroine she’s not a kickass action heroine. She’s just pig-headed and resourceful and she has a strong personal motivation. Heroines who rely on their wits are always more interesting. And having a woman in peril (and pretty soon she’s well and truly in peril) is always a winning formula in a thriller.

This is a science fiction horror movie but it’s also a typical Crichton techno-thriller with a present day setting and technology which could plausibly exist in the very near future.

And while Crichton is as always clever and inventive with the tech stuff he also handles the suspense thriller elements very skilfully indeed.

Geneviève Bujold makes a fine heroine. Susan is a prickly character who is not easy to get along with but that makes her dogged persistence more convincing and we come to admire courage. Michael Douglas gives fine support as Mark, also a not obviously overly likeable character but with a nice touch of ambiguity. Widmark is good - all bullying bluster and oiliness.

Look out for Tom Selleck in a very small role.

Despite the importance of surgery to the plot there are no grisly operating table scenes but there are some very very creepy visual moments that make this a genuine horror film. The Jefferson Institute is a wonderful piece of soulless brutalist architecture.

Coma is a well-executed exciting thriller with cool reasonably intelligent ideas and genuine chills. Highly recommended.

The all-region Blu-Ray is barebones but looks great.

I’m a major Michael Crichton fan, both as a novelist and filmmaker. I’ve reviewed his earlier Westworld (1973) and his later underrated Runaway (1984) as well as his wonderful The First Great Train Robbery (1978).