Jeff Goldblum will star in Rick Alverson’s latest flick, “The Mountain”, based on the father of the lobotomy, the infamous Dr. Walter Freeman.
“The Mountain” is a period drama set in 1954, which follows the story of a young man who lost his mother as a child, and ultimately ends up being taken under the wing of a lobotomy-performing doctor.
Said doctor, Dr. Wallace Fiennes, is played by “Jurassic World” star Jeff Goldblum. The character is based on Dr. Walter Freeman, the man who pioneered lobotomies and shock therapy; famously performing a surgery on John F. Kennedy's sister Rosemary that rendered her disabled for the rest of her life.
Read More: The sad and dreadful life of Rosemary Kennedy
Dr. Freeman was responsible for the innovation of the "transorbital lobotomy", i.e. the use of a long, metal "ice pick" in the procedure. Dr. Freeman preached his infamous method, performed more than 4,000 procedures during his career despite having no formal surgical training.
Newcomer Tye Sheridan plays Andy, the young man who is captivated by Goldblum's character Dr. Fiennes.
Explaining the plot to IndieWire, Goldblum said, “I take this kid with me on the road in the Pacific Northwest. He’s lost his father, and I’ve lobotomized his mother, and so I take him under my wing, get him to photograph me as I’m doing these things.”
On the road they run into a cult leader, Jack, whose daughter Susan has been institutionalized for an unspecified mental disorder. Jack wants Dr. Fiennes to perform a lobotomy on his daughter, but his reasons for which remain unscrupulous.
The movie, written by Rick Alverson, Dustin Guy Defa, and Colm O’Leary is currently in post production. It is due to be submitted to the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals in the coming weeks.
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