Mel Gibson’s Forgotten R-Rated Action Thriller Is A Pulse-Pounding Paranoid Treat
Written by Robert Scucci | Published
Despite the controversies surrounding Mel Gibson’s many hot mic moments and public meltdown in the mid-2000s, he was unstoppable throughout the 80s, 90s, and early aughts as an entertaining front man. Lethal Weapon, Payment, A brave heartagain The Patriot all come to mind when talking about high quality work, but in 1997 Conspiracy Theory it doesn’t get nearly as much love as it should. Although it’s billed as a political thriller, it’s accurate, the real charm Conspiracy Theory it derives its dark sense of humor from Gibson’s complete dedication to his character, Jerry Fletcher.
An exercise in paranoia centered on corrupt government officials, Conspiracy Theory it hits as hard as it does because we’re not working with the typical character of a tin foil hat. Well, technically we are, but in this case his confusion is justified because everything he says is true. He knows it, and so does the audience. The fun comes from waiting for everyone to find him, the CIA and his love interest. We also need Jerry’s wild thoughts to catch us, because he’s so off the wall and so obsessed with conspiracy theories that he’s not even sure which one is getting him into all this trouble.
Conspiracy Theory it’s interesting to watch these reasons. It’s fast-paced, funny, and has more than enough heart to give it major appeal despite its mixed reviews and 59 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Your Standard Paranoid Conspiracy The Junky
Conspiracy Theory it wastes no time setting up Jerry Fletcher as your conspiracy theorist. Working as a taxi driver, he dismisses complaints about fluoride, the assassination of JFK, and that Jerry Garcia is still alive and at large. He publishes a newsletter, with a suitable title Conspiracy Theoryand you live alone in a cramped apartment stuffed wall-to-wall with exactly the kind of political literature you’d expect. He also keeps all his electronics, including his refrigerator, locked with combination locks, just in case.
Jerry is also busy with a lawyer named Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts), and his love is clearly one-sided. He shows up to her office unannounced to solve whatever plot he’s up to right now, and Alice allows it because she’s harmless. They actually become friends because he previously saved her from a robbery, so she sympathizes with his madness.
Real fun in between Conspiracy Theory he arrives in the form of Patrick Stewart’s Dr. Jonas, a psychiatrist working for the CIA who is somehow connected to Jerry. When Jerry was kidnapped by Dr. Jonas is also being interrogated with torture, he flees for courage and seeks help from Alice, who slowly discovers that Jerry may not be as crazy as he first admits. This dynamic works so well because, as a viewer, you expect Jerry to be validated at some point. He is caught in the middle of a legal conspiracy, but everyone has to catch him. Dr. Jonas and his goons hunt Jerry, who may have a closer relationship with Alice than either of them fully realizes.
Mel Gibson Looks the Part
Mel Gibson stops at nothing to bring the goods inside Conspiracy Theory. He doesn’t get enough credit for this performance, as he commits himself fully to the character of Jerry. The real information comes early in the house sequence, when we are told Jerry’s daily routine. Working on pure muscle memory as he sets his traps, opens his refrigerator, and works on his journal, Gibson feels completely in tune with Jerry Fletcher. The routine looks natural, almost as if he lived like this for a month before filming began.
Once Alice is brought fully into the mix, things get even more interesting because Jerry isn’t officially changed. Beneath his surface madness, the wheels in his skull spin at an alarming rate, and when Alice manages to slow him down, he suddenly begins to make a lot of sense. It’s clear that the two of them are involved in something much bigger than themselves, and that Dr. Jonas doesn’t have the whole truth about his intentions.
Since we are serious Conspiracy Theory that is, it benefits greatly from its situational humor. Mel Gibson stuffs his face with oatmeal before fleeing the hospital, but hides in the backseat like a kid in trouble at soccer practice while a disillusioned and confused Alice drives him around town following her crazy leads, pure gold. This is the kind of stuff you’d expect from a slapstick comedy, but it works well for it Conspiracy Theoryboth as comic relief and as a way to sell how far Jerry really has come.
Assuring in the Best Way
The best part about Conspiracy Theory that there are really no mind games being played. We are introduced to a crazy person, and we find out that he is not as crazy as we first believed. He certainly stirs up some serious 4-Chan energy with his acting, but he’s proven too early and must rely on his twisted mind to survive. When Dr. Jonas is first interrogated, he is completely honest about not knowing the exact plot he is being punished for, and the audience is left unsure.
That uncertainty is quickly compared to something far worse in the form of a real conspiracy that Jerry finds himself trapped inside. We know he’s unstable, but we also know he’s right. We just don’t know what he’s right about, and the real fun comes from following him down that rabbit hole.
As of this writing, Conspiracy Theory is streaming for free on Tubi.
